In the months leading up to the World Cup, Group C stood out from the pack for being the weakest group of all, with no real contenders, but new life has been breathed nto this group thanks to England and New Zealand's recent upsets of Australia. Now this is a group to keep a close eye on as it may very well provide the tournament's surprise packets.

Canada
The North Americans make their second straight appearance at the World Cup and third overall.  Sadly, once again I can only see the trend continuing where they do well at their level but less so against the Test nations.

A number of selections in the Canadian squad, made up almost exclusively of foreign-born or foreign-raised players leaves a number of question marks about the depth of the game in the land of ice hockey. New Zealand-based Ian Billcliff earns a recall having only played two ODIs since the last World Cup and their bowling is propped by two 40-year-olds in George Codrington and former West Indian Test player Anderson Cummins, who made some handy performances for the Windies during the 1990s.

For Canada to be competitive, they will once again need their captain Jon Davison to repeat his 2003 heroics, and they  will once again rely heavily on individuals as there are simply too many holes in the side to make an impact.

England
From laughing stock to serious contenders, read England. After a series of pathetic performances in the Commonwealth Bank series that culminated in the Australia Day debacle, the call from the Aussie media was for tourists to board the first flight back to the mother country.

After being hammered from pillar to post, England pulled off an unlikely tournament victory over the hosts and have a new-found confidence. For this they can thank their younger players, Ed Joyce and Liam Plunkett. Joyce's move up the order has proved successful, while breakout performances in Australia thrust Plunkett from the fringes to the very forefront of England's bowling lineup for the World Cup. Both are exciting long-term prospects.

The middle order of Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff holds the key to England's hopes of reaching the semi finals and beyond. Collingwood was nothing short of brilliant in the final stages of the Commonwealth Bank series - he scores at a good rate with little risk allowing the power hitters to free their arms.

England should be a certainty to advance to the Super Eight but I doubt if the have the talent against the very best to progress to the semi finals

Kenya
Kenya shocked everyone with their appearance in the semi finals of the 2003 World Cup on the back of a couple of home walkovers and defeat of Sri Lanka. This performance proved to be a false dawn. A lack of any development pathways from the ICC and 'civil war' within Kenyan cricket has hampered progress, despite their status as the best non-Test-playing nation.

Led by Steve Tikolo, considered by many as the finest batsmen outside of the Test arena, the Kenyans should be able to put up a reasonable showing. The big challenge will be how they handle power hitters in the opposition, the likes of Pietersen, Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Brendan McCullum.

Kenya should beat Canada but with England and New Zealand on a high, that is about all they can expect.

New Zealand
After the Black Caps' dramatic whitewash over the Australians in the Chappell-Hadlee series, they have a chance to win the World Cup, but only if their best players stay fit throughout.

Injury to key players is a problem that has plagued New Zealand cricket for years, highlighting the gulf between the best and the rest. There may be no more an important player to the prospects of their side than Jacob Oram. The all-rounder can single-handedly turn a game with the bat and provides another option for Stephen Fleming with the ball.

The fast bowling department has been boosted by the return of Shane Bond, who showed in the Chappell-Hadlee series that he is close to getting back to his best. Mark Gillespie also impressed in Australia and is deceptively quick, but a nerve problem that developed on the flight from New Zealand to Barbados is threatening to derail his campaign, which is a big blow for the Black Caps.

The surprise retirement of Nathan Astle in January has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Kiwis with a rejuvenated Lou Vincent filling their brittle batting. Vincent has scored four half-centuries since his return and has added a new urgency in the field. And with the promising Ross Taylor in good nick, the top order is less of a concern.

James Franklin, Michael Mason or Daryl Tuffey will share the bowling with Bond, but if they are going to make an impact, this is the area the Kiwis will have to improve on.

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