GROUP A
Afghanistan
Best finish: First World CupICC One-Day International (ODI) ranking: No. 11
Outlook: Captain Mohammad Nabi is an excellent all-rounder with a batting average of 31.44, strike rate of 89.90 and bowling economy of 4.19. He is one of four Afghanistan batters ranked in the ICC’s ODI top 100.
MLB equivalent: Pittsburgh Pirates. Nabi is a one-man team in the mold of do-everything outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
Australia
Best finish: Winners, 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007ICC ODI: No. 1
Outlook: The only team with two bowlers in the top seven of the ICC rankings – lefty fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and lefty swing bowler Mitchell Starc. Meantime, six players in the batting lineup have a strike rate above 86, led by Glenn Maxwell (115.76). Enters as the favorites and are rightly confident.
MLB equivalent: New York Yankees. Winningest team in history and not shy about reminding people.
Bangladesh
Best finish: Quarterfinals, 2007ICC ODI ranking: No. 9
Outlook: The team in Group A with the best chance of pulling an upset. Shakib Al Hasan enters as the No. 1 ranked all-rounder (34.58 average, 4.27 economy). In the ICC’s official fantasy cricket league for the tournament, Al Hasan is tied for the second-most valuable player, behind South Africa’s AB De Villiers.
MLB equivalent: Minnesota Twins. A decent team but simply will be overmatched in a tough group.
England
Best finish: Runners-up, 1979, 1987, 1992ICC ODI ranking: No. 5
Outlook: Joe Root is the team’s highest rated batter in the rankings (14th). Righty James Anderson, a swing bowler, is ranked fourth in bowling. Captain Eoin Morgan, born in Dublin, is an exceptional fielder but hasn’t batted well recently (19.36 average dating from last season). Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is capable of scoring runs in a hurry and is well worth watching.
MLB equivalent: Chicago Cubs. Worldwide fan base often must be content to enjoy a good time rather than a victory.
New Zealand
Best finish: Semifinalists, 1975, 1979, 1992, 1999, 2007, 2011ICC ODI ranking: No. 6
Outlook: Excellent preparation: New Zealand won series against India and Pakistan in 2014. Captain Brendon McCullum is very inventive with his fielding strategies; he keeps opponents guessing. The batting lineup goes five deep and the bowling is four deep. Set to play every game on home soil unless or until they reach the final, in Melbourne.
MLB equivalent: Washington Nationals. Rather new to heightened expectations but seem to have the arms and the bats to justify them.
Scotland
Best finish: Group stage in 1999, 2007.ICC ODI ranking: N/A
Outlook: South African born batsman Preston Mommsen (29.28 average) is the best of the bunch and will be worth watching.
MLB equivalent: New York Mets. In the shadow of a prominent neighbor and not very good at the moment.
Sri Lanka
Best finish: Winner, 1996ICC ODI ranking: No. 4
Outlook: Aggressive as batters and bowlers. Excellent spin bowling options, though the pitches in Australia and New Zealand don’t always reward spin. Angelo Matthews (40.32 batting average) is the No. 3 ranked all-rounder. The batting lineup features two of the top five in the ICC rankings, Kumar Sangakkara (40.71 average) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (38.97).
MLB equivalent: St. Louis Cardinals. Have a proven formula for success and are a tough out. Not fun to play against.
POOL B
India
Best finish: Winners, 1983, 2011ICC ODI ranking: No. 2
Outlook: Virat Kohli (51.50 average) and Shikhar Dhawan (42.75) are the stars of a very deep batting lineup. In the ICC’s official fantasy World Cup tournament, only one player is rated higher than Kohli and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. Meantime, young all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (33.92 average, 4.81 economy) is an excellent athlete and has a very bright future.
MLB equivalent: Boston Red Sox. Score lots of runs, give up lots of runs and seem to have a billion fans — though in India’s case, it’s actually true.
Ireland
Best finish: Quarterfinals, 2007ICC ODI ranking: No. 12
Outlook: Ed Joyce (32.97 average) is a star in the English County league and Kevin O’Brien became a hero after he scored 113 to help defeat England in the 2011 World Cup.
MLB equivalent: Tampa Bay Rays. Rather new to the scene and current prospects aren’t great, though they are aiming for more.
Pakistan
Best finish: Winners, 1992ICC ODI ranking: No. 7
Outlook: Unquestioned depth in bowling; four bowlers are in the top 16 of the ICC rankings. That includes lefty fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who is 7-feet-1. The bad news: Pakistan will be without spinner Saeed Ajmal, the No. 1 bowler in the rankings, and Mohammad Hafeez, the No. 2 all-rounder. Ajmal wasn’t selected after having been suspended; Hafeez is injured.
MLB equivalent: Oakland A’s. Incredible bowling/pitching, batting is iffy. Expect tight, low-scoring games.
South Africa
Best finish: Semifinals, 1992, 1997, 2007ICC ODI ranking: No. 3
Outlook: A remarkable 1-2 punch in the batting lineup with AB DeVilliers (52.16 average) and Hashim Amla (56.41). DeVilliers made the BBC’s all-time Cricket World Cup starting XI. Amla literally is capable of batting all day. Righty fast bowler Dale Steyn (4.80 economy) is third in the ICC ODI rankings and, with Australia’s Johnson, is probably the fastest bowler in the tournament.
MLB equivalent: Detroit Tigers. An incredible mix of batting and bowling means they are fun to watch. But the fun always seems to end in the semifinals.
United Arab Emirates
Best finish: Group stage, 1996ICC ODI ranking: N/A
Outlook: Defeated Afghanistan, 3-1, in a recent series. The pick of the batters is Khurram Khan (53.37 average). He scored an 86 in a warm-up against Afghanistan.
MLB equivalent: Houston Astros. Not likely to spring any surprises.
West Indies
Best finish: Winners, 1975, 1979ICC ODI ranking: No. 8
Outlook: Disappointing run-up to the World Cup has lowered expectations. Fast bowler Jason Holder, 23, is a very promising prospect. The sometimes dangerous, sometimes useless batting lineup includes Chris Gayle (36.78 average) and Marlon Samuels (32.94).
MLB equivalent: Los Angeles Dodgers. Great in the 1970s, not a ton of recent success.
Zimbabwe
Best finish: Quarterfinals, 1999, 2003ICC ODI ranking: No. 10
Outlook: Wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor (33.27 average) is one of the best in the world and Hamilton Masakadza (28.29) is capable of posting huge scores.
MLB equivalent: Texas Rangers. Decent recent history; current prospects are not terrible, though the team is aging.
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