Aussies face fight of their life to retain World Cup crown: Roebuck
By ANISaturday, January 15, 2011
SYDNEY - Noted cricket commentator Peter Roebuck reckons that the Australian team and management is not prepared for next month’s 50-over World Cup in the Indian sub-continent.
“World Cups are won by settled sides enjoying a run of form. Beset by injury, and with few players at the peak of their powers, the Australians could be hard-pressed to reach the semi-finals,” Roebuck wrote in his syndicated column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Roebuck, however, admits that captain Ricky Ponting and company can renew their careers if they the win the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2.
He also believes that England will be a major threat to Australia, who have held the World Cup for the past 12 years.
“England have been weak for 20 years, and strong for two. With Australia it’s been the other way around. But the Poms hold the World Twenty20 crown, and the tide is with them,” Roebuck wrote.
“Certainly, they no longer flatter to deceive. Bold, balanced, bright and hungry, Andrew Strauss’s side is better placed than most predecessors to issue a serious challenge,” he added. (ANI)
