London: West Indies and New Zealand could prove to be dark horses in the upcoming World Cup starting here in England and Wales Thursday, according to former Australian greats Mark Waugh, Allan Border, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee.
New Zealand – the 2015 World Cup runners-up – tick all the boxes, according to former Australia opener Waugh. “Probably New Zealand. They were in the last World Cup final. They’re probably going to rely on a few players like Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Trent Boult but they always seem to play well,” Waugh was quoted as saying by www.cricket.com.au.
“They field well, they’re disciplined, run between wickets well, always well coached and in for the fight all the time. I think they could make the semis. They’re probably the dark horse,” he predicted.
On the West Indies, Waugh said: “The West Indies probably have the batting but not the bowling to be a threat. South Africa, I suppose, they’re going to rely on Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and maybe Kagiso Rabada. They’ll be a threat but probably New Zealand will be a roughie.”
The Aussie batting great Border termed the Windies led by Jason Holder as a ‘dangerous’ side for the showpiece event.
“I look at the West Indies side and I think that’s a very dangerous team. If they get some momentum going they could be very, very dangerous. I know as the game gets shorter they get more dangerous, but I think the 50-over game suits them playing in England,” Border quipped.
Fellow Australian Symonds, a fiery all-rounder during his time, echoed Border, saying Chris Gayle will be raring to go in his possible World Cup swansong.
“West Indies. I just think they’ve got a quiet little bit of confidence going on there at the moment. They’ve played pretty well in recent times. And Chris Gayle will be itching to potentially go out on a winning note. They’re my dark horse,” said Symonds.
However, Symonds teammate during his time, pacer Lee has put his weight behind Afghanistan, saying their star studded bowling line up led by Rashid Khan can do the trick for them in the prestigious quadrennial event.
“The dark horse would be New Zealand, but Afghanistan will play some good cricket. They probably don’t have the batting that they would like but their bowling unit is outstanding,” said the pacer who took 380 wickets in ODIs.