Fingers crossed: Are we in for a big, fat, boring stretch?

The majority might respond in the negative; but here8217;s why rebels sticking their necks out might find some similarly craning company.

The Minnows

8226; We watched 32 teams 8212; double the number trooping into West Indies right now 8212; wrap it up within a month at football8217;s extravaganza last summer. Mind you, soccer had its minnows too, who like their cricketing brethren deserved to strut their stuff on the world8217;s biggest stage once in four years. Only, owing to the successfully parallel running club football structure, the names turning out for an Ivory Coast or a Ghana weren8217;t as unfamiliar as those that will make it to the score-sheets of a Bermuda or Ireland.

Didier Drogba propped up interest for the Ivorians at the start. Eric Szwarczynski will probably engage only as Netherland8217;s most challenging tongue-twister at the World Cup when the teams are viewed first-up.

For a game like cricket, obsessed with statistics and redolent of nostalgia8212; unfamiliarity breeds contempt. So, to be witnessing 20 of the first 24 league games pitting the top teams against rank unknowns is like having an hour-long song and dance item by Bollywood doubles as a prelude to Bon Jovi8217;s thirty-minute rock concert.

Punching-bags never come in with huge reputations, but having half the field comprising names you are unlikely to remember beyond the first fortnight is stretching it too much.

A special grant of 500,000 to six of the associate nations playing in the Caribbean proves that they are far from ready to avoid knockouts against the established teams, and the first 13 days can at best be labelled an extended warm-up for the big guns.

Newbies have given previous tournaments those rare upsets 8212; Kenya downing West Indies or Bangladesh trumpeting over Pakistan. So, while their presence in the West Indies might not be debated, it is their complete absence from the high-end international scene in the intervening four years that leaves them as eye-sores at the World Cup.

Bermuda were the earliest to qualify, and with 10 men over 30 and on their last stretch, can only hope that 2007 gives their players the high-point of their careers 8212; like 2003 for Kenya where they bizarrely reached the semis after beating Sri Lanka and 1999 for Zimbabwe.

Kenya last played a seriously competitive side 8212; Pakistan8212; two seasons ago, while Zimbabwe, plagued with myriad troubles, continue their downhill journey eight years since the Flowers and Neil Johnson earned them a spot in the Super-6. They last led a 5-match series 2-1 against West Indies before eventually going down 2-3 in November 2003.

Having stir-fried Australia in Cardiff during their flash-in-the-pan performance two years ago, Whatmore8217;s Bangla boys might still fancy punching above their weights, but with an average age of 23.6, the side bears the distinct look of being half-cooked, though with enough ingredients for a hit recipe in the future.

Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands have lived on the periphery for long8212; the first two due to their literal proximity to England, but hardly look like they can dent star-confidences. All in all, the first two weeks can pass off as one-sided contests. And even when the real action of the Super-8 starts, the final would still be a month away.

Aussie dominance

8226; But if the intro seems prolonged, the body of the matter threatens to be a snappy, hypersonic affair. The Australians are in the habit of mocking at final games and have shown in the last two editions that they can strangle all title-deciders Pakistan in 1999, India in 2003. For all the unexpected drama of the Champions Trophy six months ago, the Aussies still killed the final-contest, bullying their way against the brave-hearted West Indians. All talk of the Aussies struggling in the run-up to the World Cup needs to be taken with a bagful of salt, and they know how to rub it in if they go all the way.

Daddies, tired bodies

8226; Compounding the boredom associated with endless days of cricket is the string of last hurrahs emanating from multiple dressing rooms with this Daddy8217;s World Cup is set to be the last one for a host of stars of their generation. As much as farewell tournaments pack themselves to the brim with excitement, the muddled emotions 8212;like Aussies will tell you 8212; really take away from the cricket. There is limited scope for a young name to catch fancy and be welcomed with so many goodbyes taking up all the space.

Marred by injury from the outset, the World Cup schedule is pregnant with the chances of more breakdowns and fraught with the danger of sides being unable to build or keep momentum through the two months. Australia, India, England and New Zealand are all taking players still gaining match-fitness. The final might well be reduced to two teams out-slugging each other8212; with the one less tired prevailing over the other.

Hinges on India8217;s fortunes

8226; Finally, the World Cup is unlikely to sustain interest here in India if the team falters anywhere in the all-play-all 26 Super-8 games. The audience here will pick up momentum in the second stage, though viewers8217; fatigue sets in sooner if your national team is hiccoughing midway.

Night viewing makes for great nostalgia 8212;no grandchild in India should miss out on the 8216;We used to wake up in the middle of the night and not sleep a wink when India played in the West Indies8230;8217; lines 8212; but the geographical distance and a midnight start for close to two months will definitely strain the nerves more than ever before.

All of that is, of course, worth the trouble if India lift the Cup on April 28 or keep that slate clean against Pakistan.

Only, the long-drawn tournament playing out here at bedtime means that partying late into the night will seem all-too-trite.