Sri Lanka will become the second touring team to play a Test match in Cardiff on Thursday - and their tour of England (and Wales) continues all the way through to 9 July, before they head to Edinburgh for two one-day internationals against Ireland and Scotland.

Their two opening matches went pretty well, a win against a weak Middlesex side followed by a come-from-behind triumph against the much stronger England Lions.

Those results followed a pre-tour build-up which was anything but easy.

The resignations of captain Kumar Sangakkara and the selectors in the wake of the World Cup were predictable enough. More unsettling was the retirement from Test cricket of fast bowler Lasith Malinga, and an unpalatable tug-of-war between the national board and the Indian Premier League, which meant five players turned up after the first warm-up match.

Law makes a point to Sri Lanka's star batsman Mahela Jayawardene - photo: Getty

Add to that the sword of Damocles hanging over Sri Lankan cricket - namely former captain Hashan Tillakaratne's threat to name players he believes have been involved in match-fixing - and it's a relief to know that in Law they do at least have a hard-nosed former Aussie pro who is very familiar with all the players.

It is an additional boon that he knows local conditions as well as anyone in the England camp, following his fruitful spells as a player for both Essex, Lancashire and Derbyshire.

Sri Lanka are expected to be a formidable force in the five-match one-day series. On their last tour, in 2006, they caught a June heatwave and some consequently flat wickets to batter an experimental home side 5-0.

But it is the Tests which come first, and for the first part of the tour Sri Lanka's bowling attack is shorn of both Malinga (who, at 27, has decided he will only play limited-overs cricket for his country) and, of course, the brilliant spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, whiling away his last few years as a cricketer in various domestic Twenty20 leagues.

Law says of the absence of Malinga: "It's a massive loss, people are going to ask this question until probably the day he dies, and we're going to miss Muralitharan too, as anyone would.

"My understanding of it was that after the Test series against India [in August 2010] Malinga wasn't going to play much more Test cricket, so for me it's not really much of a surprise that he said he didn't want to be selected for this tour.

"Filling his boots is going to be tough work. He's a natural, he's unbelievably good at what he does and he's just getting through the IPL now. He knows he can't push his body to bowl 25-30 overs in a day.

"If he does he can't walk for a week so that's no good for him either. We will miss him but we have a young kid in our squad now called Nuwan Pradeep, who's very slingy. Hopefully he's the one who stands up to take his place.

"He's the future. You will miss guys like Malinga but we've got to stand up and find someone else who wants to play 10 to 15 years for Sri Lanka."

Pradeep was a key component in the win over the Lions, taking 4-29 on the final day against England's second-string unit.

Of the five Test players joining the tour late because of IPL commitments, Law is unconcerned about the lack of preparation for the excellent experienced batsmen Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

But off-spinner Suraj Randiv, plus pace bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Thisara Perera, may suffer from their rushed lead-in to Cardiff, particularly as they have not been regular selections for their IPL sides.

Sri Lanka's victory over the England Lions came after following on. Picture: Getty

Law takes the inconvenience on the chin: "That's professional cricket these days. You'd love to have everyone together two weeks before a crucial opening Test match but unfortunately circumstances don't allow that these days."

An uncompromising, naturally fast-scoring right-handed batsman, Law had a reasonable run in the Australian one-day side in the late 1990s before being dropped just before the successful 1999 World Cup.

He never returned to the national side, but when not churning out runs for his native Queensland in the Australian summer he was also one of the most consistent scorers in county cricket in the early noughties.

A dalliance with the ill-fated Indian Cricket League led to an inevitable dead end, but Trevor Bayliss, the Australian who coached Sri Lanka for four years until the World Cup, helped Law make the transition from player to coach when appointing him as his assistant.

Just like Andy Flower, who took over as England coach on an interim basis in the Caribbean two years ago and went on to take the job permanently, Law is keen to make his current role into something more.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for me to work with one of the best teams in the world, so I am keen. I've got this tour to show what I'm capable of. I think I can take the team forward and hopefully myself and Sri Lanka Cricket will sit down and talk things through at the end of it."

Sri Lanka have already won two Tests in England, memorably at The Oval in 1998 when Muralitharan took 16 wickets in the match, and then when they took advantage of a deteriorating surface at Trent Bridge in 2006 to square that three-match series 1-1.

A draw or better over the course of the upcoming three-match rubber would be a notable achievement, and if the dry weather prevails, spinners like Randiv and Ajantha Mendis are potentially key.

So too is the captaincy of Tillakaratne Dilshan, known more for his imaginative batting than his leadership skills.

Law was enthused by Dilshan's bold decision to declare behind Middlesex at Uxbridge - a move which paid off with victory on the third and final day of Sri Lanka's tour opener.

"Dilly's a guy who's very positive in the way he plays his cricket and hopefully that carries on into his captaincy."

Law is also happy to disregard the official standings which show India as the number one Test team. England, he says, are the "best team in the world" in Tests, having had "a fantastic 18 months."

It's quite a compliment, but here's the Australian's ominous warning: "We can match them if we apply ourselves and play good consistent cricket. If we keep things simple we can be a devastating team."

Then something happened. They became good, very good indeed as the authoritative captaincy of Clive Lloyd turned them into a brilliant match-winning machine. They had the game's most dominant batsman, Viv Richards, and the most fearsome fast bowlers in the world.

The great era of Caribbean cricket, which began with their success in the inaugural World Cup of 1975 and continued into the early 1990s, is viewed with a greater sense of nostalgia now than ever before in light of the prolonged demise the game has endured in the Caribbean since then.

And so it is that when watching Stevan Riley's new film Fire in Babylon, which goes on general UK release on Friday, you cannot help but feel those glory days are lost in time, evoking a brand of cricket West Indies will never replicate.

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Riley employs three narrative methods. Firstly, of course, he uses splendid footage of selected series in Australia and England, brought to life vividly on the big screen (it comes as a real treat if you have grown used to the pixellated, cramped confines of youtube for such memories).

The second story-telling device comes in the form of present-day interviews with the legendary West Indies players. Michael Holding, a professional pundit now, is wonderfully eloquent. Andy Roberts, his fellow former fast bowler, also provides intelligent insight. And you only have to look at Richards' eyes - still burning with the passion that seems to have escaped the current generation of West Indian cricketers - to feel the emotion of the time, and the drama of what became a crusade against the established powers.

Holding describes an early setback by revealing how he sat down by the wicket and wept in despair, out of sheer disbelief that "anyone could play the game of cricket this hard". But they responded, and how. For Richards "my bat was my sword".

The third narrative format is what takes this film firmly away from the realm of those prosaically efficient videos produced by the satellite sports channels.

Riley's added spice comes through the contributions of non-cricketers. There are interviews with Rastafarians - some famous like Bunny Wailer, others less so - lyrically opining about the wonder of Richards and Gordon Greenidge in their prime, or the poetic pace of the fast bowlers.

And, most surprisingly of all, there are some enchanting musical interludes. Various bands who one suspects would be familiar only to older Caribbean viewers are filmed performing gentle cricketing ballads. These mostly take place outdoors against carefully constructed backdrops.

Triumph through adversity is the film's principal theme. The players on the 1975-76 tour of Australia, where the story begins, recall the racism they suffered from the fans, and the pummelling they received on the pitch from the Australian fast bowlers Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

West Indies were World Cup holders at the time, but the film pitches them as talented but fundamentally naive underdogs up against a ferocious, streetwise Australian side who handed out a no-nonsense 5-1 beating.

The helmetless Gordon Greenidge hooks England's Norman Cowans for four in the 1984 series (Getty)

The 1976 tour of England that followed was the breakthrough series. A home side led by Tony Greig was swept aside 3-0 with Holding and Roberts in full cry, despite a sweltering summer resulting in wickets that should have helped the batsmen.

From then on, it's pretty much a tale of unbridled success, taking in the 1979-80 series in Australia where revenge was sweetly obtained with a side now incorporating the likes of Desmond Haynes, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, and the famous "blackwash" tour of England in 1984, by which time the terraces at grounds like The Oval were overspilling with West Indian fans, obtains its rightful place too.

Riley is no cricket buff, and does not become buried in the complexity of individual matches and the kind of detail that would appeal only to anoraks, rather than the broader audience the film is hoping to capture. But that is not to say that there is an over-simplification of broader issues.

For example, appalled by the pocket-money salaries dished out by the West Indies Cricket Board, we see the players accept the invitation from media magnate Kerry Packer to play in his World Series in the late 1970s. These are the renegade matches in Australia where coloured clothing was worn for the first time - look out for some fetching all-pink kits.

The cricket also sits alongside a wider political background. The Caribbean itself faced something of an identity crisis as it struggled to deal with a serious economic slump once the post-independence honeymoon had run its course.

Meanwhile, racial tension was an unwelcome undercurrent in England in the early 1980s. No wonder those fans at The Oval, so close to some of the worst race riots in Brixton, responded so readily to the all-conquering efforts of the 1984 team.

The Brixton riots of 1981 provide a political subtext to Fire in Babylon (Getty)

The very title of the film puts further focus on race issues. Babylon's conquest of Jerusalem in antiquity left the Jews without a home, and is used in Rastafarian culture as a metaphor for what happened to Africans torn from their homeland by the slave trade.

Thus, Fire in Babylon inevitably reflects on how Richards famously turned down blank cheques, twice, to play on rebel tours of South Africa, in the early 1980s.

Most of the star names also steered well clear, but others did not and thus implicitly were seen to support the apartheid government.

One of the most poignant interviews comes when fast bowler Croft explains his decision to accept the South African rand. He starts off on the defensive, before appearing more rueful and apologetic later on.

On immediate reflection, the film appears to lack a neutral voice. There are no present-day interviews with any of the West Indies' adversaries of the time, for example.

But perhaps Riley's judgement is correct. This is not intended to be a dispassionate observation of cricket as played by the West Indians 30-odd years ago, it is about how it was in their own eyes.

Fire in Babylon is a joyous experience for a cricket fan, and I see no reason why it cannot be equally enjoyed by someone with a limited appreciation of the noble old game. Go and see it while you can. But before you do, a quick warning - you might never want to watch an Indian Premier League game again.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 live's West Indies cricket special from 2100-2230 BST on Wednesday 18 May.

Andrew Strauss's decision to concentrate exclusively on Test cricket has allowed the leadership position for one-day internationals to pass to Alastair Cook, long considered Strauss's heir apparent.

But the vote of confidence shown in the 26-year-old from Essex comes with a caveat. Cook has been judged as someone who can score quickly enough for 50-over cricket but not for 20-over cricket. This is despite an average of 33.36 at a strike-rate of 129.90 per 100 balls in domestic Twenty20.

It leaves a third position vacant, and rather surprisingly Stuart Broad gets the nod for the Twenty20 captaincy. He is a player who has frequently struggled to control his emotions in the heat of battle. Broad, 24, will also be the first specialist bowler to captain England since Bob Willis.

Assuming the third Test against Sri Lanka reaches its final day, Strauss will be barking out the orders at the Rose Bowl on 20 June, before Broad issues his own commandments four days later in Bristol on the eve of the one-off Twenty20 international.

On 28 June the reins of power pass to Cook when the one-day series begins. Let's just hope everyone remembers who should be in charge on which particular day.

For all his qualities in so many other regards, Strauss seldom looked an accomplished tactician during England's suspense-filled campaign at the World Cup in February and March.

England's best result came when they beat South Africa, but Strauss nearly jeopardised that by bowling spinners Michael Yardy and Kevin Pietersen in tandem when the situation was crying out for Broad and James Anderson to blow away the tail.

We cannot say whether Cook will make better calls than Strauss in tight situations in 50-over cricket, but he avoided a possible banana skin when standing in for the Middlesex man in Bangladesh last year, winning all three one-dayers and both Tests while scoring runs.

Perhaps Cook's biggest task of all will be to attempt to get a tune out of Pietersen, who since being stripped of the captaincy himself in January 2009 has struggled badly in one-day cricket.

England hope three captains will work better than one or two

In 12 ODIs as captain Pietersen averaged 52.28. Shockingly, in 27 matches since losing the stripes he has not made a century and averages a woeful 23.78.

There will also be new players to blood. England struggled to accelerate their run rate at the World Cup and now is an excellent time to try some of the new batsmen around the counties. Nottinghamshire's Alex Hales, a solid striker of the ball, is one of those who may come into the frame.

As captain, Cook will play a vital role in helping any newcomers bed into the team, and England may try to experiment in the way other teams have at this stage in the four-year cycle - resting key members at judicious intervals to get a good look at the fringe players.

Remember, nothing is vital in 50-over cricket until the next World Cup comes along in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. Cook's job is to ensure that, about three years from now, he has a nucleus of players who know where they will bat and how many overs they are likely to have to bowl.

He can only do that by making sure he has the necessary support from a management who for too long have not accorded one-day cricket the respect it deserves.

Thankfully, the 2015 World Cup will not be preceded by a strength-sapping Ashes tour which left the players mentally and physically exhausted, as had also been the case in 2003 and 2007.

Cook will also have to lead by example, forming a close bond with whoever he is called upon to open the batting with, and show that the increased range of shot-making he demonstrated during his outstanding Ashes series - with cut shots, cover-drives and slog-sweeps - can lend itself to one-day internationals

Broad takes over from Paul Collingwood in the game's shortest format a year after the Durham all-rounder successfully steered England to an unexpected success in the ICC World Twenty20.

The blond paceman, who has shown patches of serious batting potential, has never captained a side before at any level, including during his days at Oakham School.

He was pointedly accused by one journalist at Lord's on Thursday of showing "petulant" behaviour in the past. (His past indiscretions include throwing the ball at Pakistan's Zulqarnain Haider during the second Test at Edgbaston last year, a misjudgement which cost him half his match fee.)

Perhaps responsibility will allow him to channel his energies more appropriately since he is a hugely important player across all three formats for England.

One way or another, he was clearly able to demonstrate his leadership potential during the interview process that the ECB conducted before announcing the new captaincy set-up.

Broad will lead the side in two one-off matches this summer before England defend their world title next year in Sri Lanka, and it will be fascinating to see how certain players, many of whom will be considerably older than Broad, react to his captaincy.

Graeme Swann and Pietersen, both of whom must have come under consideration for the Twenty20 captaincy, may not find it easy to take orders from Broad.

The three-way split will be a suck-it-and-see affair for a year or so. Coach Andy Flower has admitted as much.

It is hard to gauge whether or not he genuinely expects it to work, and it may be no great calamity if, in time, a change needs to be made.

Certainly, three captains seems at least one too many. But facing a hectic schedule, and by design or otherwise, England might have inadvertently arrived at a new blueprint for dealing with the complex burden of international cricket.

When the stalls burst open at the top of Newmarket's famous Rowley Mile racecourse on Saturday, at 1510 BST, the racing world will get its answer to a fascinating conundrum.

Frankel will either show himself to be an equine specimen of rare brilliance or simply another thoroughbred who is all hype and hot air.

The bookmakers could not be clearer about their leanings. Not since Nijinsky in 1970 has there been a hotter favourite for the 2,000 Guineas, the first Classic of the British Flat racing season.

It cannot be stressed just how important the race is for the horse, his rider Tom Queally, plus trainer Henry Cecil and owner Khalid Abdulla.

Win the Guineas and win it convincingly, and the season opens up before them, replete with possibilities. He would be a very hot order for the Derby and be in line to achieve something similar to Sea The Stars - the extraordinary winner of Six Group 1 races in six months in 2009.

Lose the Guineas on the other hand, and it would be a party-cancelled, balloons-burst, champagne-gone-flat moment.

Frankel and Tom Queally (pink cap) winning Newbury's Greenham Stakes on 16 April (Getty)

Listening to Cecil - and just as revealingly absorbing his body language - a few days before the 2,000 Guineas is a fascinating exercise.

Self-effacing at the best of times, and never given to bold affirmations of the talent of any of his horses, he nonetheless exudes plenty of confidence that Frankel is a pretty special animal.

Cecil must know. The 10-time champion trainer, now 68, won his first 2,000 Guineas back in 1975. He has picked up the Derby four times, and the equivalent for fillies, the Oaks, on eight occasions. According to his own website he has 389 pattern wins and 35 Classic successes behind him.

He has won top races in France, Ireland and United States, and has more Royal Ascot winners (72) to his name than any other trainer. Cecil has achieved all this despite a long lean spell from the start of the millennium.

He initially coped well when a breakdown in his relationship with Sheikh Mohammed led, in 1995, to the powerful owner removing all his horses from Cecil's vast Warren Place establishment in Newmarket.

Then, in 2000, his twin brother David, a chronic alcoholic, died of cancer. Between 2001 and 2005 Cecil failed to land a single Group One race. By September 2005, having split from his second wife, he found himself 94th in the trainers' championship.

These were worrying times, but Cecil plugged on, telling the Independent at the time: "I could retire and become a member of White's Club [the exclusive Mayfair establishment] and sit there with a glass of port and some stilton and talk all day long about what I've done. But who's interested? Least of all me."

In 2007, he revealed he had been fighting his own grim battle against stomach cancer for nine months, but later that year he was back with a vengeance, winning the Oaks with Light Shift on an emotional June day at Epsom.

Since then, it's been just like the good old days for Cecil, whose nervousness ahead of Saturday's race is endearing. He seems like a teenager before a big date, not the man who has been described as the finest British trainer of the past 50 years.

Cecil at Royal Ascot in 2001, during a tough period on and off the racecourse (Getty)

"You always worry a little bit about things going wrong," he says.

"I've had so many horses prior to big races, and coming to the last week we've had setbacks. You never quite know what's going to happen, you have to accept things and get on with it. Unless you have a little bit of butterflies and things it's not worth doing it. I'm getting used to it but you never completely get used to it."

Frankel is a big, muscular brute of a horse, unbeaten in four races. He has been favourite for Saturday's race since confirming himself the champion juvenile of 2010 with victory in the Dewhurst Stakes last October.

But there were some signals in his only appearance as a three-year-old, at Newbury on 16 April, that might have given hope to some of his rivals.

Channel 4's John Francome warned punters on the day that Frankel was sweating up at the start - rarely a good thing - and pulled very hard under Queally at the start. Then, when finally reaching optimum galloping pace, he hung his head to the right for a furlong or two.

None of that is of any concern to Cecil, however.

"At Newbury he was ready for a race but he wasn't tuned up for it. People criticise the way he won. They said he got upset, which he didn't. He was very, very good and did very, very well," says the 68-year-old trainer.

"He hadn't been on the grass since last year. The all-weather is a tremendous help but I always run them on the bit on the all-weather, and I would like to think he would be a much better horse on Saturday then when he came out and had his introduction."

Frankel is again likely to run with a cross noseband, which is designed to keep his head down when the jockey pulls at the reins.

It is unusual to see any Cecil horses with additional bits of headgear, but the trainer points out his Irish adversary Aidan O'Brien gives nearly all his horses cross nosebands.

Nor should anyone tempted by prohibitive odds of 1-2 be concerned by the horse's ungainly head carriage at Newbury - no more than his natural reaction when the reins are applied, says Cecil.

"I think he's grown up a lot. He is precocious and you could set him alight but he's helped us. We've got to keep him switched off and hopefully he's going to be easier as the year gets on," he explains.

Cecil earlier this month with one of his most loyal supporters, owner Khalid Abdulla (Getty)

"He's very relaxed and he's good in his cantering. When the adrenaline goes he can be a little bit more fiery but on the whole he's pretty good. The trouble is he's got a very long stride, an extraordinary stride when you move him behind [other horses]. He doesn't put his hind legs that far underneath him but he seems to cover an awful lot of ground with his front legs.

"If you're going a normal gallop with him he's slightly restricted because he's got this very long gait. If you can let him just go on and he can use himself as he wants to then he's more relaxed. I don't think it's a problem and hopefully on Saturday he will prove that there isn't."

Frankel completed his final piece of work on Tuesday, tucked in behind a lead horse and allowed to race clear for the last furlong.

Abdulla also owns Rerouted, who will run in the Guineas for trainer Barry Hills and should be able to provide some early pace for the favourite.

"I think he'll probably run very well on his own merit," says Cecil of Rerouted, a 66-1 shot. "Obviously I'd like a decent sort of sensible pace and if I don't get it I'm quite happy to do it myself. We'll just see how it turns out. He could do it if he had to; I'm hoping we don't have to."

Among the chief dangers to Frankel are the two Irish raiders. Pathfork, trained by Jessica Harrington in Moone, County Kildare, is also unbeaten and will be making his seasonal bow. O'Brien's Roderic O'Connor has already been handed one beating by Frankel, at Newmarket last October, but rebounded from that to win a Group One race in France a fortnight later.

Shrewdly, Cecil chooses not to expand on who he believes is his greatest challenger, though he has certainly looked at them: "What one does is go through the intended runners and try to pick holes in them, and try to forget about your own."

In reality, trying to forget about Frankel is not really an option as the hours tick down until Saturday afternoon.

Cecil's final comment sums up the glorious unpredictability of his job: "There's not such a thing as a racing certainty and Saturday will tell us a lot more."

"We beat Pakistan and Bangladesh in our first World Cup, we took down the Ashes champions in our second, we've made the fastest World Cup hundred, the highest and third-highest World Cup run chases and we have the youngest World Cup centurion. Anyone who says they don't want to watch Ireland in the World Cup is lying."

Wilson makes a compelling case, and his final point is particularly telling.

How can the board members who voted to exclude Ireland and their fellow associates justify their decision? It is hard to believe they genuinely believe Ireland are not good enough to play in cricket's global showpiece tournament. Who for that matter, reading this blog, will say they do not want Ireland in the 2015 World Cup?

Ireland spinner George Dockrell is one of the game's most exciting talents (AP)

This season, a record nine Ireland-qualified players have been named in first-class county squads. They include Paul Stirling, the 20-year-old on Middlesex's books who made a century in 70 balls against the Netherlands and perhaps most excitingly of all, George Dockrell.

The 18-year-old, shrewdly captured by Somerset, is a slow left-armer of real talent who dismissed Andrew Strauss, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Ramnaresh Sarwan at the World Cup.

Then there's Graeme McCarter, also 18, yet to break through to the Ireland senior team. He's a Londonderry-born fast bowler who has been compared to both Brett Lee and Angus Fraser and is contracted to Gloucestershire.

While Ireland are made to do without, Zimbabwe are guaranteed a 2015 World Cup spot despite not having played Test cricket since September 2006 and sitting one place below Ireland in ICC's own one-day rankings at 11th.

While they did beat Canada and Kenya efficiently enough in the World Cup, Zimbabwe remain a workmanlike side who at no stage worried any of the top four teams in their group.

When Zimbabwe met Ireland in the 2007 World Cup the teams tied, and the most recent meeting between them was a 20-run Irish victory. So, how can it be that Zimbabwe have a golden ticket for 2015 while Ireland do not even have the right to qualify?

The guarantee to the southern African nation, historically a staunch and important ally of India (and thus the Asian bloc) within the ICC boardroom, smacks of messy collusion.

One might not have had to speculate about all this had the ICC chosen to explain more about its 2015 decision. But instead, it wasted far more words congratulating itself on "the many important achievements" from the tournament that had finished 48 hours previously.

When a call and an email to the ICC's offices in Dubai went unanswered, I instead contacted the ECB to try to establish which way its chairman, Giles Clarke, had voted in Mumbai. But Clarke was en route back to the UK on Wednesday and not available for comment. The ECB said it would attempt to clarify its position as soon as it was able to do so.

What can be said categorically is that despite cutting out four teams from the 2015 format, the overall length of the tournament will not be significantly reduced from the 43 days that most felt was too long in India. That is because of the terms of the deal with the World Cup broadcaster ESPN Star Sports.

The ICC's decision will be tough to take for the Netherlands as well as Ireland (AP)

A 10-team tournament in four years' time had been in the offing for some time, and Australia and New Zealand, the next World Cup hosts, confirmed that was indeed their preference when the ICC's executive board members met around the sparkling mineral water in the Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel on Monday.

But instead of encouraging the likes of Ireland and the Netherlands - which they could have done by, perhaps, offering six automatic spots and four more via a qualification process - they cut them out of the deal altogether, effectively turning their flagship tournament into a private members' club jamboree.

The story has continued to move on. The ECB has emailed county chief executives with Ireland players on their books to remind them to be careful when using Twitter accounts to vent their frustrations.

It has not, as has been reported in some quarters, issued a blanket ban on comments. Nevertheless, the indignation and hurt felt by the Irish is not surprising.

This was, after all, the team that had produced the single most extraordinary performance in the 2011 tournament. Kevin O'Brien's scintillating century allowed the Irish to chase 328 to beat England on a heady night in Bangalore, having at one stage been 111-5.

Little wonder Ireland's coach, the former West Indies star Phil Simmons, called Monday "a dark day for cricket but a great day for greed and fear", and labelled their exclusion "despicable".

Cricket Ireland has vowed to fight the decision, and there has been some suggestion that they could try to present a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, a body more used to settling football transfer disputes and doping matters.

Importantly, the ICC's actions should not be seen merely as an injustice to Irish cricket. It is also a damaging blow, for instance, to Afghanistan's dreams of ever competing in a World Cup, to the Dutch of course, and also Scotland, Kenya and Canada.

But if the ICC is hoping everyone will quietly lose interest in this story then it may have to think again.

The West Indies, in an uncompromising fashion that may have impressed Margaret Thatcher, were peerless in the 1980s, with their fearsome fast bowlers and that most awe-inspiring batsman, Viv Richards.

When the Windies then spiralled into decline, Tony Blair entered Downing Street at a time when Australia had already taken hold of the sceptre of power that made them the pre-eminent side.

But with the third of Ricky Ponting's three Ashes defeats still fresh in the memory, and two changes of Prime Minister since Blair, a watershed moment has arrived.

I'll leave the politics out of this blog from now on, and instead concentrate on India, whose coronation as World Cup winners on Saturday could put them on course to establish themselves as the next great superpower in world cricket.

Dhoni (right) will not be able to count on the formidable Tendulkar (left) for very much longer (AP)

This was a tournament in which favourites (generally South Africa in recent editions) had not enjoyed a good record. But this time India started as favourites and found a way to win. Furthermore, no previous team had won a final on home soil. Shrugging off that weight of expectation was all the harder for India, whose fans are both notoriously passionate and notoriously fickle.

Mahendra Dhoni's Zen-like serenity, and ability to inure himself to external factors, helped him rise to the challenge with some accomplished captaincy. Dhoni also ended a run of poor form by delivering the coup de grace with the bat against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

His legacy is secured a generation after Kapil Dev, who led an underdog Indian side to glory in 1983, wrote the first chapter in the modern history of Indian cricket.

In Dhoni's case, the journey can go to even bigger and better places and for the next 12 months the onus will be on protecting the number one Test status they earned over the winter.

So how do India's finest players prepare for the important tours of West Indies, England and Australia that lie in wait for them later this year (plus a home series in November against West Indies?) Oh yes. The Indian Premier League starts on Friday. That's right, this Friday... and goes on until 28 May.

With two new franchises, Pune and Kochi, and 74 matches squeezed into less than two months, players will have to suffer a stressful regime of practice-match-hotel-flight (repeat ad nauseam) week-in, week-out.

Remember: in the IPL, the performance of India-qualified players is key. Seven players in each starting side have to be Indians, and there will be no instances of the national board pulling players out to give them a break (as happens in county cricket).

Seven days after the IPL final, India play a Twenty20 international in Trinidad followed by five one-day internationals and three Tests, finishing on 10 July.

Time for a rest after that? Oh no. It's straight on to the tour of England and a warm-up against Somerset starting on 15 July. Quite what shape any of these players will be in come the Lord's Test match on 21 July is anyone's guess.

One way round would be to rest a number of key players for the tour to West Indies. But that could be a dangerous tactic on pitches that have become lifeless, and under new captain Darren Sammy the Windies are showing glimmers of potential.

One for the future: Cheteshwar Pujara has already had a brief taste of Test cricket (Getty)

Either way, Andrew Strauss's England will start that Test at Lord's with a huge in-built advantage on a ground where they are unbeaten in their last 10 Tests.

I mention all this because the single biggest threat to India's bid for world cricket domination is not the quality of their opponents but the daft scheduling.

Administrators everywhere are good at talking a good game when it comes to easing the physical and mental burden on players. But when it comes to agreeing deals with rival boards and broadcasters, the dollar signs tend to loom larger than the latest alarming bulletins from the physio.

Another negative for India is the age of some of their top players. Sachin Tendulkar (37) is playing some of the best cricket of his life in his fourth decade as an international cricketer.

But even the finest wines have a quantifiable shelf-life, and before very long he will have to be replaced. More holes in the batting will open up when Rahul Dravid (38) and VVS Laxman (36) also make way.

There are some very fine young batsmen in India. The 21-year-old Saurabh Tiwary is an extremely exciting player while Cheteshwar Pujara, who has played three Tests, comes with all the right credentials and appears to have a long career in front of him.

Virat Kohli, an important if unspectacular performer in the World Cup, also looks like he could play some fine innings in Test cricket.

At 32, Zaheer Khan is significantly younger than Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman. But he is a fast bowler and the sad truth is that they age faster than batsmen.

Zaheer is also demonstrably the best seamer in both the Test and one-day sides and will require careful management in the years to come. Ishant Sharma looks the best of the rest, while too many others (notably Irfan Pathan and RP Singh, plus Sreesanth, to an extent) have seen highly promising careers fizzle out alarmingly.

Injuries and indifferent form have stalled the careers of Irfan Pathan and RP Singh (Getty)

The list of other young fast bowlers coming through is a thin one, but that's hardly surprising. The Indian nursery is effectively the IPL. And if you're a young bowler trying to rise to the surface then having to bowl at the most aggressive batsmen in the world in 20-overs-a-side cricket is far from ideal.

Scoff all you like at the County Championship. But when England were forced to adopt Plan B in the Ashes and produce Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett halfway through the series, they acquitted themselves very well indeed.

If fast bowling is a concern for India, spin bowling is not, or should not be. Harbhajan Singh (30) has many miles left on his clock, and other spinners like Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla and Ravichandran Ashwin all look pretty useful.

With their enormous resources, both financial and in terms of raw numbers of players, and the belief the World Cup win should give them, India have a fighting chance of doing something similar to Clive Lloyd's West Indians and Steve Waugh's Aussies.

But they must do so at a time of innumerable, compressed tours, and amid the distractions of the IPL - plus the imminent retirement of some superstar players. It will take something very special indeed for Dhoni's India to become a benchmark for long-term cricketing excellence.

The nation's cricket fans had stomached a third Ashes defeat in the last four Test series against England, followed, barely two months later, by a quarter-final World Cup exit.

The man at the helm for all of those painful losses was Ricky Ponting. He had to go, but while the selectors pondered a while longer, he pre-empted their deliberations with a not unexpected resignation.

For a man whose stubbornness was such a powerful aspect of everything he did - both his greatest virtue and also one of his least palatable qualities - it must have been hard.

Ponting at the conference to announce his resignation at the Sydney Cricket Ground (Getty)

But Ponting, whose prowess as a batsman was only fortified by the burden of captaincy when he first took charge of Australia's one-day side in February 2002, has left at the right time.

Australian ex-cricketers certainly felt that way. Tom Moody, who played with Ponting in the successful 1999 World Cup campaign, said: "Punter's the type of guy who's realistic. He's a very proud man but it's time for Australia to move on."

And Mark Waugh, whose career also overlapped Ponting's, added: "I think the timing is pretty good. I think the Australia team needs some fresh ideas."

I was in the crowd at Headingley in July 1997 when Ponting, then just 22, hit his first Test century, helping rescue the Aussies from a perilous position in a mammoth stand with Matthew Elliott.

Scored under intense pressure - he had missed the previous eight Tests after being dropped somewhat harsly - Ponting's was a chanceless innings. The sure footwork that he demonstrated as he drove and pulled England's bowlers would become a hallmark of his game.

Senior figures in Australian cricket must have seen something about him they liked, especially as they stood by him when he went off the rails 18 months later.

A punch-up outside a Sydney bar landed him with a black eye and newspapers carried the photo. A fine, plus a three-match ban inevitably followed. It was not easy for a boy from a tough, working-class corner of Tasmania to make the dramatic rise as one of the country's most recognisable sportsmen - by then he had also played in the World Cup-winning side of 1999 - without some collateral damage.

Ponting admitted to a drinking problem and the Australian Cricket Board, as it was then called, sought to put him back on the straight and narrow.

So successful was his progress that he was soon back in the frame as a possible captaincy contender, a path that opened up for him when Shane Warne lost the vice-captaincy after allegedly bombarding a British nurse with explicit text messages.

When the selectors looked for a fresh leader for the one-day side to replace Steve Waugh, they noted Ponting's increased maturity, brought in part through his engagement to long-term girlfriend Rianna Cantor, a law student. And it was Ponting they turned to.

Barely a year into the job, he took his team to the final of the 2003 World Cup in Johannesburg where he hit a majestic match-winning 140 not out. There was no better way of him telling the world that this captaincy lark rather suited him.

It was a prodigious year of outstanding personal success for Ponting, who took over the Test captaincy as well in March 2004. He was effectively the second most important figure in Australian culture after the Prime Minister.

With Damien Martyn after hitting his unbeaten 140 in the 2003 World Cup final (Getty)

His first frustration as a leader came later that year, when a broken thumb kept him on the sidelines, and Adam Gilchrist duly led Australia to their first series win in India in 35 years.

Australia remained the pre-eminent side in world cricket as Ponting's management skills ensured he squeezed the best out of some big players with big egos nearing the end of their careers.

He was a little unfortunate to run into the a very fine England side in 2005, Michael Vaughan's men winning the extraordinary Ashes series that year.

But revenge was very sweet for Ponting when England were whitewashed 5-0 on home soil in 2006-07, the final Test series for Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer.

Having played in four winning Ashes series before losing his first as a captain, this was the perfect riposte from Ponting, whose indomitable spirit had revealed itself in the Adelaide Test of that winter.

The match itself will long be regarded as one of the most sickening defeats for an England team to suffer, given their almost impregnable position at the start of the final day.

Ponting later described Adelaide as "an amazing achievement". He seemed to relish the fact his team had been written off: "There were a lot of media who didn't think we could win, but we showed just how good a team we are and answered a lot of our critics."

That pugnacious spirit had been in evidence from the very first day of that series, when he pulled England's bowlers remorselessly for boundaries in a typical Ponting century that allowed him to set a personal stamp on proceedings.

A record-equalling run of 16 consecutive Test wins between December 2005 and January 2008 formed another illustrious feather to Ponting's much-decorated bow.

It was so important to get one over England on their home soil, however. And he failed to do it as the 2009 Ashes series went the way of their fiercest opponents.

Now that Australia were not winning so often, Ponting's somewhat one-dimensional approach to captaincy was laid bare, certainly on the first day of the Lord's Test that summer when Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss took toll of weak bowling and some ambitious field placings to put the game beyond Australia's reach within hours.

Ponting hits Ashley Giles through the covers during his day one century in the 2006-07 Ashes (Getty)

The victim of pantomime booing by English spectators by now, no more so than at Lord's itself, he had nevertheless earned their respect. And if any of them had been part of the Barmy Army that toured Australia 18 months later they might have told stories to their mates back home of how Ponting would stop to pose for photos and autographs, even a chat.

Journalists too will tell you of a man who has always answered questions frankly, and who - despite the enormous time he has to spend with the media - frequently gives extra interviews on request.

His detractors seize on the negatives - the fixed, unbending approach to strategy and his occasional problems accepting the authority of umpires.

In the Melbourne Test last December, a match Australia had to win to wrest back the Ashes, he could see the game slipping away. With no other outlet to channel his frustrations, he rounded on umpire Aleem Dar when a television referral was unable to back up his belief that Kevin Pietersen had edged a catch behind.

More recently still, and searching for form, he was reprimanded for causing irreparable damage to a television in the dressing room after being run out in a World Cup match against Zimbabwe.

Somehow, he dug out a century from the memory banks in his last match as captain, against India, no less - the same team he failed to beat in two away Test series after the Gilchrist-led success.

Having played at the same time as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis, Ponting's achievements as a player have not always received their due credit.

The only Australian to have surpassed 12,000 runs, he has amassed 39 Test centuries, behind only India's Sachin Tendulkar (51) and South African Jacques Kallis (40). His haul of 30 one-day centuries puts him second behind Tendulkar in the shorter format.

We may not have seen the last of Ponting as a player. One of the illustrious captains he succeeded, Allan Border, said: "The fact that he's given up the captaincy might just bring him up to play some of his best cricket over the next couple of years."

Michael Clarke, the man primed to replace him, has no easy task. Clarke is disliked by many Australians, both those who booed him to the crease in the recent one-day series against England and the 74% who revealed in a Sydney Morning Herald online poll they were opposed to him being captain.

Ponting may no longer be captain, but Australian cricket remains at a difficult watershed.

The Cricket World Cup produced one notable scalp by an associate nation - when Kevin O'Brien hauled Ireland past a huge England score with an innings to light up any tournament - but excitement and unpredictability has not generally been high on the agenda.

The one surprise from Group A is that Pakistan find themselves above Sri Lanka and Australia at the top of the table, while in the other half Bangladesh's heavy defeat by West Indies proved crucial in ensuring the Tigers, one of three host nations, would not progress to the knockout stages.

England have consistently been the tournament's jokers in the pack, never winning or losing by more than a whisker, playing brilliantly against the good sides and woefully against the weak ones.

With just seven matches to go, who's going to win the thing? Let's take a look at the eight contenders.

With batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli to call on, India look formidable (AP)

ENGLAND

A combination of a growing injury list and an alarming loss of form from players such as James Anderson and Paul Collingwood means the World Cup's unlikeliest late recruit, the tattooed Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach, is not a million miles away from making an appearance before this tournament is out.

No team has had to change its plans as often as England, and no captain has endured anything like the anxiety levels encountered by Andrew Strauss. And yet the positives are there for all to see.

England found a way to beat South Africa and tie with India - two of the strongest sides in the tournamen - while Jonathan Trott and Strauss occupy positions two and three in the leading run-scorer stakes.

The bowling could be the weak link, with the ring-rusty spinner James Tredwell likely to come under huge pressure if he continues to play, though the fielding has improved sharply from some horrible moments earlier in the tournament.

Expert's view (Test Match Special's Sunil Gavaskar): "England must be considered as serious contenders to win the Cup... possibly favourites. The way they came back from the loss against Bangladesh was amazing. They have a very balanced bowling attack. Strauss makes England believe in themselves."

My prediction: Beating Sri Lanka at their Colombo fortress on Saturday remains a very tough assignment. England to bow out in the quarter-finals.

AUSTRALIA

Now their unbeaten record in World Cups, stretching back the last Millennium, has finally gone is it time for their stranglehold on the trophy itself to be wrested away? If that's the case, then it might have to be India who do it on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

It is to the immense credit of Brett Lee that the lion-hearted veteran paceman has got himself fit for this tournament, let alone become one of its most dangerous bowlers. Lee has 12 wickets at a cost of 15.83 runs each. And Mitchell Johnson has been much more accurate than he tends to be in Ashes Tests.

But it is unlikely to be fast bowlers who win this World Cup for anyone. Even if Australia were to beat India they would then travel to Colombo for a semi-final set to be played on a low, slow turner.

Their batsmen, with Ricky Ponting the most glaring example, have not yet reached their full potential, and their spinners - as was advertised before the tournament started - remain a weakness. And yet if they do get past India not many teams will be keen to take them on.

Expert's view (Test Match Special's Geoffrey Boycott): "You have to put Australia in the mix. There is always something about them. They've got quick bowling and they are going to try to get up people's noises, try to bombard people. It can backfire - but if they get it right then they make inroads quickly."

My prediction: India to gain revenge for defeat in the 2003 World Cup final by sneaking past Ponting's men in the quarter-finals.

NEW ZEALAND

Apart from the astonishing run surge led by Ross Taylor against Pakistan (92 runs came off the last four overs) New Zealand have gone about their business quietly - disposing of the minnows, and losing to the two top seeds in Group A - but effectively enough to reach the last eight without any scares.

For a team who tend to struggle with fitness, they have also got to the knockout stage in good shape, though presumably the physio will have his work cut out to ensure injury-prone all-rounders Scott Styris and Jacob Oram make it thought the remainder of the tournament in one piece.

On that front, captain Daniel Vettori expects to have shrugged off the knee problem that forced him out of two group matches in time for the quarter-finals.

With Taylor topping the batting charts for the Black Caps and seamer Tim Southee proving surprisingly effective with ball in hand, New Zealand are unlikely to go down meekly. It would, however, take a leap of faith to imagine them reaching the final.

Expert's view (The Dominion Post's Aaron Lawton): "Coach John Wright is not a miracle worker. He can only set the game plan - which, incidentally is to be no more than three wickets down by the 35-over mark before pulling out the big shots - and hope his players will follow it."

My prediction: South Africa will be too strong in Friday's quarter-final for this New Zealand side, which appears to be lacking punch.

WEST INDIES

Their group matches suggested one thing: if West Indies ever establish a big advantage over an opponent they can bully them into submission. They also told us this: put the West Indies under pressure and watch them disintegrate.

Cruising to an apparent victory over England, West Indies needed just 24 to win with four wickets and bags of time in hand but managed just three more runs amid a flurry of wild swings, tentative pokes and a run-out.

India and South Africa also beat Darren Sammy's team by margins comfortable enough to suggest the Caribbean dream is in danger of being ended fairly soon.

Whatever happens now, paceman Kemar Roach and opening batsman Chris Gayle have had good tournaments, and given the dreadful bad luck they have encountered with injuries West Indies cannot be said to have performed below par.

Expert's view (Windies captain Sammy, after batting collapse against India): "It's a worrying thing for us but I still back the calibre of players we have, once we put our heads down and play each ball on its merits."

My prediction: West Indies' brittle batting will be severely tested by Pakistan's varied attack, and that should decide that quarter-final.

PAKISTAN

With 17 wickets costing 11.47 runs apiece and opposing batsmen managing to score barely three-and-a-half runs from each of his overs, Shahid Afridi has laid down a claim as the leading bowler of the tournament. If he can recapture the batting form he is more renowned for, then anyone standing in Pakistan's path should watch out.

For a team whose prime weapon is its bowling - alongside Afridi, the unpredictable fast bowler Umar Gul has been in fine fettle - they have also had their moments with the bat, such as when totalling a match-winning 277-7 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

But then there's also the mediocre Pakistan who West Indies will hope to encounter on Wednesday in Mirpur: the one that was bowled out for 184 by Canada and thrashed by New Zealand five days later.

Asad Shafiq's steady 46 in the confidence-lifting victory over Australia may have ended Ahmed Shehzad's tournament. Even so, a top three of Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Shafiq/Shehzad is a weakness that must be overcome.

Expert's view (Former World Cup winner Imran Khan): "The mix of youth and experience is helping Pakistan. It was a complete team effort against Australia and with their natural talent I think they can win this World Cup."

My prediction: Batting weakness to be exposed by India as Pakistan's journey ends in the semi-finals.

SOUTH AFRICA

Some excellent selections, notably picking plenty of spinners including the ODI newcomer Imran Tahir, have ensured South Africa enter the knockouts as one of two teams with five wins behind them.

The startling lack of form of Graeme Smith, and to a lesser extent Jacques Kallis, has been overcome with some big runs from AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy.

Squad depth is a big strength for South Africa. Seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe came in for his first game against Bangladesh and returned 3-14 in five overs.

The weakness remains this: how good are South Africa mentally in a tight run-chase when asked to bat second on a spin-friendly wicket? England had their number in Chennai, and other teams will aim to repeat the formula of crowding the bat and inducing some panicky shots.

Expert's view (BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew): "I'm going for South Africa to win the World Cup. They are a much more rounded team than they've probably ever been in one-day cricket. If anyone is going to win it rather than England then Graeme Smith, for his long service to the game, deserves to get his hands on the Cup."

My prediction: South Africa to miss out on a World Cup final again as nerves get the better of them against Sri Lanka in the semis.

SRI LANKA

In the only abandoned match of the tournament, Sri Lanka were poised to set Australia a testing target and the margin of their wins over Zimbabwe and New Zealand in their final two games - 139 runs and 112 runs - speaks of a team entitled to feel a trifle confident.

And yet it was a bit of a surprise that they were unable to find a way past Pakistan at their Premadasa fortress back on 26 February.

With no Asian opponents on their possible list until the final, mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis is expected to be picked, especially with Sri Lanka in Colombo both for their quarter-final and semi-final (should they beat England).

So long as Mendis is not knocked off his rhythm, then the rest of the bowling should be strong enough to take Sri Lanka deep into the knockouts, especially with Kumar Sangakkara in tremendous batting form, and others doing their bit with the willow.

Expert's view (TMS pundit Simon Mann): "Sri Lanka, in these conditions, have got lots of options. I'm a bit worried about their lower middle order but all the teams are flawed, and Sri Lanka have fewer flaws than others."

OB's prediction: They have the tools and should have the confidence to go all the way, but the final will be only their second tournament match away from home. Runners-up.

INDIA

For a team with everything going for it - home advantage, a rejuvenated Sachin Tendulkar, and a death bowler par excellence in Zaheer Khan, India don't half have their detractors.

A number of fans feel off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been coasting through the tournament and should be dropped - I disagree - while the lower middle order have not scored enough runs when setting targets.

Throw into the mix the persistent refusal to play more than four bowlers - Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan have got this far relatively unscathed as the "fifth" bowler, but that may not last - and suddenly the negatives are piling up.

In what remains largely a batsman's game, however, you feel the sheer weight of runs already meted out by the formidable top six will keep on coming. And Harbhajan will surely start taking wickets when opposing batsmen have no option but to attack him.

Expert's view (Test Match Special's Michael Vaughan): "A few teams can win and you can't rule out India with the support they have and the power of their batting. The bowling and fielding will have to be better, though."

My prediction: India were not the finished article in 1983 and found a way to win. Packed with match-winners this time, they can certainly do it again.

Paul Farbrace, who spent two years as the island nation's assistant coach from 2007, is confident Kumar Sangakkara's men can go all the way. Their campaign begins on Sunday with a sell-out match against Canada in Hambantota.

"They are well planned, well organised, and have a very good and well-balanced squad," Farbrace, who left his Sri Lanka post to coach Kent, tells BBC Sport.

"The conditions will suit them enormously. They have been working towards this for the best part of three years, and a lot of effort has been put into selection."

But this blog is not about England; it's about a powerful unit who can draw on the experience of Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardene, the exotic bowling of Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis, and one of the most exciting young cricketers around in Angelo Mathews.

Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga are two of Sri Lanka's trump cards (AFP)

With such a rich talent base to draw on, have the selectors arrived at the right squad of 15?

Global cricket promoter Mahendra Mapagunaratne, a Sri Lankan who coined the phrases "carrom ball" - the flicked-finger delivery developed by Mendis - and "Dilscoop" (a scooped over-the-shoulder shot played by Tillakaratne Dilshan) is not convinced.

He wants to know why 37-year-old Chaminda Vaas, a left-arm swing bowler who took 23 wickets in the 2003 World Cup, has been left out.

"Vaas has mastered his craft and his experience cannot be easily replaced," says Mapagunaratne. "He has also developed his batting and can even play in the top order in an emergency.

"Sri Lanka may still go on to win the World Cup but Vaas would have made that task that much easier."

Another Vaas sympathiser is commentator and journalist Roshan Abeysinghe, who feels the veteran of 322 one-dayers is "on top of his game."

He adds: "Vaas had a great season with Northants, and though there was an explanation about why Dilhara Fernando was picked - the selectors were going with someone who could bowl fast and replace Malinga in case of injury - in most people's eyes that argument does not hold much water."

Abeysinghe also feels the once dashing opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, one of the 1996 glory boys and now 41 years old, could have earned himself a final World Cup campaign.

"Jayasuriya would struggle to come into the side as an opener now. Dilshan is secure in that role and the other opener Upul Tharanga hit a century against the West Indies recently. But if Sanath had been willing to bat down the order, he could have been considered as an all-rounder to bowl some left-arm spin. He's still very fit and could have batted at seven."

Farbrace reckons the selectors have probably got it right by calling time on the careers of both Vaas and Jayasuriya.

"They have been two giants of Sri Lankan cricket, but the selectors have decided it's time to move on. It was one hell of a big call to make to drop them, they were desperate to play. But the change had to be made at some point and the selectors were brave enough to make it at the time they did."

The one bone of contention in Farbrace's eyes is the omission of Suraj Randiv among the three spin options, with Rangana Herath picked instead.

Batsmen such as Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga make up a strong squad (AP)

However he does concede that Herath has done "exceptionally well for Sri Lanka in the last two years", while Abeysinghe notes that he could prove a useful substitute for Mendis against teams such as Pakistan and India, whose batsmen are prone to attack the unorthodox spinner.

Farbrace is a Mathews enthusiast, revealing that he was picked as a raw 22-year-old for the ICC World Twenty20 in England to serve a long-term purpose.

"His selection for that tournament enhanced his learning very quickly, and coach Trevor Bayliss deserves credit for playing him before he was ready.

"Mathews can bat anywhere in the top six and can bowl 10 overs a game. He could emerge from this World Cup as one of the best all-rounders in the world... a Jacques Kallis-type cricketer who can score thousands of runs while his bowling should not be under-estimated."

This World Cup will also feature the last few matches in the career of the mighty Muralitharan, but his impending retirement will not be a distraction to himself or the rest of the team, argues Farbrace.

"Murali has this desire to be the best and is driven by fear of failure. I worked with him when he was about to break the Test wickets record in Kandy, the excitement didn't get to him then.

"That driving desire to be as good as he can is unique in someone who's such a good player. His never-ending determination, bowling 10 times the overs he needs to in practice, never goes away."

Muralitharan's sub-continent record compares favourably with other top spinners (statistics: Opta)

Abeysinghe confirms an excitable buzz began in Sri Lanka many weeks, but says none of it concerns Muralitharan's farewell.

"In most people's mind he's already retired. He was given a grand send-off at Galle [where last July, in his final Test, he became the first man to take 800 wickets in five-day cricket.]"

The only negative Farbrace can contemplate is the enormous expectation that will be heaped on Sangakkara and co by the home fans.

"It is great to have home advantage but Sanga and Trevor will tell the players they are under huge pressure because of the expectation levels. Sri Lankans are fanatical about the World Cup.

"Maybe Vaasy not playing may be an issue in that scenario, but I feel there's enough quality in this squad."

While you would expect him to back the team he once coached, the respect with which Sri Lanka are regarded is revealed in a recent comment from Matthew Hayden.

The former Australia batsman said: "Sri Lanka are the red-hot favourites. They have enough players to succeed in these conditions, besides some extremely experienced and dangerous players. And they are going to push hard."

There will be some very tough challenges in the weeks ahead, and one bad performance from the quarter-finals onwards could prove terminal, but things are looking up for Sri Lanka if an Australian tips them as the likeliest winners.

But beyond these stellar names lies an intriguing layer of talented players, some of whom could see their reputation greatly enhanced in the upcoming tournament.

Here's a guide to six players you may not have heard of who are worth following at this World Cup:

Virat Kohli, Ryan ten Doeschate, Angelo Mathews, Abdur Razzak, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Adrian Barath (All photos Getty Images)

Virat Kohli (India), born 5 November, 1988, batsman

Such is the strength of India's batting that despite his excellent overall statistics and recent form, this stylish young player is not quite an automatic pick.

However, the official one-day rankings make Kohli the joint-second best batsman in the world, alongside AB de Villiers and behind Hashim Amla. Surely Mahendra Dhoni will want him in the side, possibly in the pivotal number four role.

The former skipper of the victorious India team at the 2008 under-19 Cricket World Cup, Kolhi has produced a string of consistent scores, and possesses a rock-solid cover-drive that has brought him plenty of boundaries at opportune moments.

First viewed as a replacement for unfit batsmen, he has struck four match-winning centuries since his one-day international debut in August 2008 and deserves a sustained run in the side.

Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands), born 30 June, 1980, all-rounder

The Dutch may not win a game at the World Cup, but they are guaranteed six matches including their traditional "cup final" against Ireland in Kolkata on 18 March.

Their best player by a country mile, and the man I believe is the best cricketer among all the associate nations, is the South Africa-born Essex stalwart Ryan ten Doeschate.

A ruthless aggressor against modest bowlers, he can also hit pretty good balls for four and six when in his best form, but is often required to play with more caution for the Netherlands than in county cricket.

A handy seam bowler too, this may be his last chance to prove to South Africa's selectors that they are missing a trick by not picking him for their limited-overs squads.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), born 2 June, 1987, all-rounder

Mathews is unquestionably one of the most exciting young players in Asia and a genuine all-rounder rated extremely highly by Sri Lanka's coaching staff.

Deliberately given his head in international cricket as a raw 21-year-old - the feeling being that he would learn quicker at the highest level than within Sri Lanka's domestic programme - he has repaid the selectors' faith with some telling contributions.

Mathews came of age as a bowler with a stunning return of 6-20 against India in 2009 and hammered a memorable match-winning 77 against Australia at the MCG last November, featuring some wonderful driving and pulling.

An intelligent cricketer, he gets the most out of his brisk medium pace, and is one of the most sought-after properties in the Indian Premier League, attracting a $950,000 contract from the new franchise, Pune.

Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh), born 15 June, 1982, slow left-arm bowler

Not to be confused with the more experienced Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, this Bangladesh spinner lives firmly in the shadow of his more gregarious captain Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib, also a very good batsman and the only real star name in the Tigers line-up, has been outbowled of late by Razzak, who took 13 wickets in the first three ODIs against Zimbabwe last December.

Getting through his spells quickly, Razzak's left-arm angle can pin down some of international cricket's quickest-scoring batsmen and he also enjoyed success against England home and away last year.

Has been in trouble with the authorities in the past for a crooked bowling action but appears to have overcome his indiscretions. Razzak needs to bowl well if Bangladesh are to make the quarter-finals.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe (South Africa), born 7 March 1984, fast bowler

Tsotsobe has played only 19 one-day internationals, but has a healthy return of 36 wickets and had gained some decent economy rates until finding himself the victim of a rampaging Yusuf Pathan at Centurion in January.

Despite Pathan's heroic century, South Africa won the match, an important series decider, tidily - and Tsotsobe took the first and last wickets.

Known by his easier-to-pronounce middle name of "Lopsy", it is a surprise that a big, strong man with a bustling run-up fails to achieve anything like the express pace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

However, the contrast could suit South Africa on the generally slow sub-continent wickets, and with few recognised spin options Tsotsobe potentially has a key role to play.

Adrian Barath (West Indies), born 14 April, 1990, opening batsman

This World Cup may come a shade too early for this exciting prospect, who had not been born when Tendulkar was taking his first steps as an international cricketer. Then again, Barath might just be ready for the big occasion.

In the short time he has had to make an impact, he has done exactly that. He crafted a Test century on debut at the Gabba and a maiden ODI century in his first innings in the sub-continent, against Sri Lanka in late January.

First impressions are a feature of Barath's game. On his Trinidad and Tobago debut, at 16, he put on a 170 runs in an opening stand with Daren Ganga, a national record in first-class cricket.

A right-hander who combines lusty lofted blows with wristy cuts and glances, he has even had a taste of the IPL and struck a promising 33 last year for the King's XI Punjab against the powerful Mumbai Indians.

If that is the case, then out on the field of play we must have been watching cricket from a parallel universe. The back end of the tour of Australia crumpled into a chaotic tailspin of injuries and defeats. Was it really only a month ago that Kevin Pietersen was out partying with Tinie Tempah in Sydney after England's Test team had quite brilliantly defended the Ashes?

Hot on the heels of the Sydney celebrations, cricket had to continue. The two Twenty20 internationals were shared, but then it all went Pete Tong to the power of 10.

England's Andrew Strauss soaks up the scale of England's defeat in the one-dayers (Getty)

England proceeded to lose six of the seven one-dayers, and so confused were their selections that they ended up with wicketkeeper Steve Davies, who had been dropped from the World Cup squad after the first ODI, back in the side and reclaiming the opening position from Matt Prior. It was Prior, we were led to believe, who would open with Strauss in the subcontinent. Now, frankly, it is anyone's guess who will take on that role.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Ravi Bopara, who has opened for England before but is not currently in the 15-man World Cup squad, will be given the job. Eoin Morgan's finger fracture is classed as "substantial" and with England's first match of the tournament on 22 February the Irish-born left-hander looks odds against making the plane.

In that scenario, England would be allowed to apply to the ICC to find a suitable replacement for Morgan, and Essex's Bopara would be one of the likeliest candidates.

Meanwhile, there are not many fit bowlers left: Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Paul Collingwood, Ajmal Shahzad and Stuart Broad are all nursing one sort of complaint or another. Broad, remember, has not played a match since early December after tearing an abdominal muscle in the Perth Test.

England's first warm-up for the World Cup is against Canada in Fatullah on 16 February and with a daunting list of walking wounded one theory was espoused that coach Andy Flower might be pressed into service.

An ECB spokesman was quoted as saying such a scenario was "so remote as to be up there with Martians landing at Lord's." One might beg to differ.

Leaving the injuries aside, what about the performances in Australia? Bearing in mind that the Aussies were juggling injuries themselves and are most bookmakers' third favourites for the tournament, England should have been competitive.

Some of the time they were, at least with the ball. But on two rare occasions the batsmen performed, the bowling fell to pieces, firstly in the series opener at Melbourne (though Shane Watson's stunning 161 had a say in matters), and then when they were unable to defend 333 at Sydney.

Ian Bell was one of many England batsmen to disappoint (AP)

Of the individuals, one batsman could hold his head high: Jonathan Trott hit two centuries and emerged with 375 runs, the rest looked badly out-of-form, the worst cases being Morgan and Paul Collingwood.

At least Collingwood did his bit with the ball, providing remarkable economy with a few wickets as well. By contrast, James Anderson was the most expensive frontline bowler and Michael Yardy looked exposed without his spin-twin Swann at the other end.

England need some sort of lift between now and the moment they board their plane from London to Bangladesh on Saturday - after a mad four days at home when they will have time to wash their kit, take the dog for a walk and little else.

There are no plans for a motivational session with Kenny Dalglish, the man who has transformed Liverpool's faltering season, though how about it ECB? Perhaps the knowledge that they are going to a very different place, and playing against different teams might allow body and mind to re-awaken.

Any positive fitness bulletin will surely help, and they must remind themselves that prior to the last series they had won their past five ODI rubbers.

As long as they show some appetite for the occasion, England should have enough quality to make the quarter-finals. To be sure of doing so, they only need to beat Netherlands, Ireland and win any two of their remaining four group matches (the easiest being Bangladesh and West Indies).

Once there, it's shoot-out time and they will be able to draw on their own success in last year's World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, when they stumbled into the Super Eights before finding their mojo and reeling off five comprehensive wins to pick up the trophy.

Things might not look too clever at the moment, but Strauss, Flower and company must remind themselves that they are one of the best five teams in the world - and play that way.

"What's this?" I hear many of you groan. "Seven one-day internationals!? Do we really need to play seven?"

Actually, yes. Reinforcing the point that the first match of the World Cup is pretty soon - 19 February since you ask - the trophy will be on display outside Gate 1 of the MCG for two hours leading up to the first Australia v England day-nighter in Melbourne.

And, loath though I am to quote directly from a press release, as the ICC's Haroon Lorgat correctly observes: "In recent months we have seen some truly great Test cricket around the world but now it's time for the one-day format to take centre stage."

Eoin Morgan has quickly established his role in the middle order to finish off run chases - or take England to big scores when batting first - and James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann are becoming very effective bowlers.

Shahzad is on the fringes of World Cup contention (Getty)

Despite dreadful campaigns in the previous four World Cups, the expectation must be that England can genuinely challenge this time around. It is a trophy they have never won.

Pessimists will point to the fact that winning ODIs in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where this year's tournament will be held, requires some very special attributes.

Power-hitting, ultra-disciplined bowling and getting reverse swing from the white ball, plus supreme fitness to ward off fatigue in intensely hot and humid conditions will be de facto requirements.

Winning out there is tough. England's record in India and Sri Lanka - 24 wins and 36 losses - is not brilliant. Though they have beaten Bangladesh in Bangladesh six times, they have also lost to South Africa there.

The difficulty Andrew Strauss's side face is that the skills which will be vital in the World Cup may not come to the fore so often on the faster, bouncier Australian wickets which are their immediate concern.

Nothing beats winning, though. So England's focus will be squarely on doing what has to be done to beat the Australians, rather than plotting the World Cup campaign.

Broad, who on Thursday received a positive update on the abdominal injury that has laid him low since mid-December, and Anderson, rested for the first three ODIs, are World Cup certainties if fit.

With Tim Bresnan also shaping up well, back-up seamers Chris Woakes, Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett will be pushing hard to provide the sort of match-winning performance which might gain them selection when the final 15 for the subcontinent are named.

Time is not on their side - England have to name their World Cup squad by Wednesday.

Woakes, just 21, has already shown how dangerous his batting is in the two Twenty20 matches. But there are a few concerns about his bowling, which was slightly predictable in those matches and not much above medium pace.

Pietersen has not hit an ODI half-century since 2008 (PA)

With Matt Prior having disappointed too often in an ODI shirt, Surrey's Steve Davies is the gloveman in favour, and is also Andrew Strauss's opening partner. It's an important double assignment for him.

The middle order has been reliant on Morgan's consistency of late, with Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood both needing strong series.

Pietersen equalled Viv Richards' record when hitting his first 1,000 one-day runs from 21 matches, but despite possessing the ideal game for ODIs, his form since the start of 2009 has been awful in this format.

He has not had a half-century in 16 innings, and before you rush to check there are no not-outs in that lot either.

Collingwood has done much better in the same 24-month period, but given his lean tour of Australia so far England need a big innings from the Durham veteran some time soon.

Given how well Pietersen has been hitting the ball down under, I'm confident he will come good. It does not look so good for a very scratchy Collingwood, but he has performed sudden metamorphoses before, so here's hoping.

Aside from producing an entertaining video diary of the tour so far, Graeme Swann has travelled under the radar a little. Now would be a good time for him to steal some of the headlines. An in-form Swann will be essential in the subcontinent.

What of England's opponents? Australia, ranked number one in the world in ODIs and winners of the past three World Cups, demand tremendous respect, even with some players not in the best of form.

Oddly, they have named a squad only for the first match, but it includes some interesting players like spinner Nathan Hauritz, who must still wonder how he did not play at all in the Ashes and may have a point to prove. Skipper Michael Clarke will be under a fair bit of pressure - can he respond?

For both teams this is a very important series, and it's also very hard to pick a winner.

It should have been a great chance to turn the guns on someone like Chris Tremlett - the man expected to replace Stuart Broad at the Waca went wicketless at the MCG. Instead, Australia's chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch got both barrels.

All he had done for his troubles was to profess his fondness of beer... Michael Beer, to be precise. But the vacuum into which all national spin-bowling talent has escaped since Shane Warne's retirement is not really a laughing matter at all.

Small beer or the full pint? Michael Beer is in line for a shock Test debut in Perth (Getty)

Allan Border professed to being "in a state of shock", before reassuring himself that Beer would be 12th man when England and Australia resume hostilities in Perth next Thursday.

The trouble is, Hilditch had already dropped some major hints suggesting Beer would soon be handed his Test debut. "We expect he will bowl very well against the English on his home ground," he said.

Warne swaggered off the international stage with 708 Test wickets behind him when Australia put the seal on their 5-0 whitewash over England in January 2007.

Nobody could have foreseen that since that glorious day for the Baggy Greens, 10 spinners - yes TEN - would be picked within four years. Once they mocked England's obsession for finding the new Botham; but finding the new Warne takes cricketing neophilia to a new level altogether.

Beer's shock was palpable: "I don't think it really sank in until I rang my parents and actually blurted it out myself and thought hang on, what's going on here?"

Little wonder. Having spent the formative years of his cricketing education in Melbourne's bohemian seaside resort of St Kilda - a place that's a bit like Scarborough, only warmer and a thousand times more trendy - he finally got his big break with Western Australia.

The 26-year-old has played five first-class games though, one of them being England's first tour game back in early November, where he recorded 3-108 and 2-99.

And the coach who brought him to WA, South African Mickey Arthur, speaks in glowing terms of this slow left-armer who follows the likes of Jason Krejza, Bryce McGain, Nathan Hauritz and now Xavier Doherty into the spin-bowling seat, or should that be ejector seat?

"I think he'll probably get an extended run now," said Arthur. He's probably right, based on the fact there are not really any spinners left in Australia who have not been tried.

Australia's policy for Perth is high-risk at every level. Out of 12 names, there are only five specialist batsmen, one of whom is the hopelessly out-of-form New South Wales opener Phillip Hughes, who was dropped after two Tests in the 2009 Ashes.

Assuming Brad Haddin remains at seven, leg-spinner Steve Smith will bat in the number six spot vacated by Marcus North. If you haven't seen Smith before, he's a confident lad of just 21, with two Tests and nine one-day internationals behind him.

It would of course be dangerous to write him off - he hit 77 in the Headingley Test against Pakistan and has a good strike rate with the ball in Twenty20 internationals - but he slightly falls into the camp of players who are OK at both batting and bowling without being brilliant at either.

North was discarded alongside Doherty and Doug Bollinger. The latter is a trifle unlucky to lose his spot, as he has been Australia's most consistent bowler since his debut in January 2009. Then again, which England batsman is worried about facing Bollinger?

Back comes Ben Hilfenhaus, a dependable sort who often takes two or three wickets but never five or six. And it's hello again to Mitchell Johnson, the least dependable fast bowler - but possibly the only potential match-winner.

It's a schizophrenic selection. We cannot say it is a bad one, because Australia could win at Perth, and then it would be one of the great selections. And given that Shane Watson's swing-bowling can be added to whichever five bowlers make the final cut, there is some nice balance about it.

Big, brave calls have been made because they have to be made. The selectors have decided North, Hauritz and Bollinger are not good enough to feature in a side trying to wrest back the Ashes from a very good England team. Now they will discover whether the same applies to Smith, Beer and Hughes.

The 2-1 series success from 24 years ago did not release the floodgates for a great run of form from England, in fact it was much the opposite. By the time new captain Nasser Hussain' side were beaten on home soil by New Zealand in 1999, they were ranked bottom of the pile in the Test rankings.

After that woeful summer, Duncan Fletcher was installed as a full-time coach and results have generally been much better since then, despite a post-2005 Ashes blip. The win in Adelaide, which moves England up to third in the latest edition of the ICC's Test Championship ladder, is potentially hugely important.

Since the dawn of the millennium there have been some splendid victories for England on foreign soil across the globe, and here follows a selection of some of the best.

Summary: After two drab draws on flat, slow wickets, England pulled off a thrilling run chase as they battled the impending darkness to pull off their first Test triumph in 39 years in Pakistan, and end a five-series drought against those opponents.

How they did it: The match appeared to be heading to another stalemate until Pakistan collapsed to Darren Gough, Ashley Giles and Craig White either side of lunch on the final day.

England were left with a chase of 176, and crucially earned the sympathy of umpires Steve Bucknor and Mohammad Nazir while Pakistan captain Moin Khan employed some dubious delaying tactics.

Finally, with everyone struggling to see the ball, an inside edge from Graham Thorpe (64 not out) just missed the stumps and England scampered the winning runs. Somewhere in a riotous England dressing room, even the usually sombre-looking Fletcher was smiling.

Kingston, March 2004 - Eng 339 & 20-0 beat W Indies 311 & 47 by 10 wickets

Summary: Mercurial pace bowler Steve Harmison enjoyed his finest hour in an England shirt, recording an extraordinary 7-12, as West Indies capitulated on the fourth morning. The result set up a 3-0 whitewash for Michael Vaughan's team.

How they did it: A match which had been keenly contested for three days exploded into life when West Indies resumed on the fourth morning at 8-0 in their second innings, trailing by just 20 runs.

Using his natural height and pace to maximum effect, Harmison found a perfect length from the off, and the Windies batsmen nicked everything - and missed the straight ones.

With the frontline batsmen blown away in next to no time, Vaughan had eight slips and a short leg to the last few batsmen. With nobody able to launch any sort of fightback, the all-out total of 47 remains their lowest ever.

Jo'burg, Jan 2005 - England 411 & 332-9d beat South Africa 419 & 247 by 77 runs

Summary: This was the fourth of five Tests in an engrossing and competitive series won 2-1 by England. With only the last two sessions of the Test to bowl out South Africa, Matthew Hoggard (7-61) led the way with an irresistible burst of swing and seam.

How they did it: For four days, these two high-quality sides appeared to have batted each other to a standstill, but Marcus Trescothick resumed on 101 not out on the final day and a plan was afoot.

Trescothick played with brilliantly controlled aggression before falling for 180, adding big runs with the lower order, whereupon Michael Vaughan declared, with South Africa chasing an improbable 332 to win.

With much of the attack either injured or out of form, Hoggard, according to Matthew Engel in the Wisden Almanack, "carried the team on his shoulders like Atlas". He nabbed the last wicket just in time and later dressed up in a cowboy hat and a cigar for photographers eager to mark his "Magnificent Seven".

Mumbai, March 2006 - England 400 & 191 beat India 279 & 100 by 213 runs

Summary: Despite England's gradual resurgence through the last 11 years, India have remained a fiendishly difficult opponent to overcome whether at home or away, but Andrew Flintoff's often-criticised captaincy worked a treat in this rare triumph.

How they did it: An Andrew Strauss century and James Anderson's 4-40 ensured a healthy first innings lead and when play resumed on the final day, India were 18-1 chasing 313 to win.

Desperate to end the series with a 1-0 win, India never considered going for the runs, and were three wickets down at lunch. But with Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire played at full volume in the England dressing room at the interval, the tourists suddenly seized the match by the scruff of the neck, with the last seven wickets falling in just 15.2 overs.

Flintoff opened the door with the critical wicket of Rahul Dravid, before unheralded 37-year-old spinner Shaun Udal blew it off its hinges with four of the last five wickets. Udal was never picked again.

Have I chosen well? What do you think? Does the excitement of these four matches exceed the refreshing dominance of England in Adelaide? Is Adelaide in fact the best of the lot, or is there another famous win out there you remember?

Here was a man who had produced one solitary fifty in 13 previous Test innings. He apparently had few credentials as an opener, and was more adept, surely, at batting at six or seven and bowling a few overs of fast-medium. Besides, he seemed to be injured most of the time.

Shane Watson, for he was the man in question, ignored the naysayers, striking 62 and 53 while James Anderson and Graham Onions were swinging the ball sideways. He has played every Test bar one since then, forming a formidable opening partnership with the crab-like Simon Katich, hitting the ball merrily here, there and everywhere with little ceremony spared.

Watson and wife Lee Furlong are one of Australia's top celebrity couples (Getty)

Katich has been Australia's top scorer in all Tests since Edgbaston 2009, but only by five runs. Watson has amassed 1,261 runs in that time at an average of 50.44, leaving Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey trailing in his wake. Whatever your allegiance, it is easy to admire Watson's second coming.

He could have been a hero in the 2006-07 Ashes, when England were swept aside 5-0, but coulda, shoulda, woulda appeared to be Watson's story.

His was then a career mired in uncertainty, notably because of injuries afflicting every part of an ironically powerful physique, with hamstrings, calves and hips taking a battering.

So inevitably he was unfit and missed Australia's glorious summer. Even though he enjoyed the considerable consolation of appearing in the 2007 World Cup-winning side, his Test career appeared in danger of remaining forever unfulfilled.

Now, at 29, he is one of the first names on the Australia team sheet, filling a dual role as Katich's more effusive foil, while sending down some handy overs as the fourth seamer. He proved particularly effective with the ball in the Tests against Pakistan at Lord's and Headingley last summer.

The oddity is that many Australian cricket fans find it difficult to admire Watson. More on that later, but one person in the pro-Watson camp is former captain Ian Chappell, whose no-nonsense punditry can be picked up by Test Match Special listeners this winter.

There is a view that Watson should not open the batting, despite his success in that role. Chappell bombs that theory out of the water, saying: "He might have become an opening batsman by accident but he's quite happy opening and I look upon him as a very effective opener."

Watson rarely fails to score his runs quickly in Test matches (AP)

An old-fashioned see-ball, hit-ball biffer without the finesse of others, Watson nevertheless possesses a sound enough defence. The overall package suits Chappell fine.

"If you have an opener who can score quickly, as Watson does, it's worth gold and makes him very effective," he said. "There are two types of opening batsman, the type that gets a start, makes the most of it and makes a big score, then you have the type who doesn't get out early but doesn't get big scores too often. Watson's in the second category, but if you can't have the first category I'm happy with the second category.

"The flaw is that he doesn't get a lot of hundreds, but he makes up for that in other ways. So long as he doesn't get out quickly, the guys batting around him are never under pressure to score quickly themselves."

Chappell is not keen to see Watson increase his bowling workload, however, adding: "The more bowling he's got to do the more it means the Australian attack isn't performing as well as you would hope. Watson should be used the way he's been used in the last 12 to 18 months, purely as a change bowler, a few overs here and then he's off.

"Anything you do with him that takes him away from opening the batting effectively would be counter-productive."

When he picked up the Allan Border Medal in February, the annual prize awarded to Australia's top cricketer, Watson fought back tears. His partner Lee Furlong, a TV presenter who he has since married, beamed in the audience as her man, clad in a designer suit and with his hair perfectly coiffured, thanked a range of people who had helped rebuild his career.

Watson's bowling could be an important option for Ponting (Reuters)

Among them was Victor Popov, the Brisbane physiotherapist who transformed Watson's training regime. No more pumping weights in the gym to make those rippling muscles even bigger, instead a gentler schedule of Pilates and stretching was ordered. Where there was once an occasional beer or two to unwind, now there was a strict teetotal regime.

To the unreconstructed Australian sports fan, Watson is thus something of an anomaly - and it helps explain the paradox that he does not meet with universal approval in his own country.

The Australian blogger Jarrod Kimber really sticks the boot in, writing recently: "It takes real talent to be hated when you are pathetic and just as despised when you are good. Even those who have the talent to get to this level of hatred could never do it as well as Shane Watson.

"When not in front of the mirror, he seems to be able to move 95% of cricket fans into a frenzy of hate, pure detestation, clear revulsion, and a general uneasy sickness of rage."

So he continues, belittling his bowling action by likening it to the movements of "an elderly man getting out of a car".

England's bowlers will have all sorts of strategies lined up for him when the first Test starts at his home ground, the Gabba. Whether they fall into the camp of being admirers or haters of "Watto" is not strictly relevant.

Nevertheless, the renaissance of Watson, and the manner in which it has been received, provides a fascinating backdrop to a potentially fascinating series.