Why the sides in Group B won't win the world cup.

So here we go, the second part of the World Cup thingy. Why the sides in Group B won't win the 2011 ICC World Cup.

WHY INDIA WON'T WIN THE WORLD CUP

- Injuries. Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag. As things currently stand, all 3 of these world class players are injured. In fairness, Virat Kohli has been in fantastic form recently, but Yuvraj is more hit than miss these days, and Raina is not entirely convincing. Niggling injuries to the 3 aforementioned players could prove extremely disruptive to Indias world cup hopes.

- Inconsistent pace bowling. This does not concern Zaheer Khan, as he is as consistent as they come these days. However, Munaf Patel only shows up now and then and is an absolute liability in the field, Praveen Kumar is still hit and miss, and Ashish Nehra is slowly finding his way back to this form from the 2003 edition, but has gone for a fair number of runs in recent times. I think the selectors have missed a trick by not picking Sreesanth, as his added bite would prove handy on the sub continent pitches.

- Sachin Tendulkar can't be in form forever. Tendulkar has been in form longer than a large number of players in the tournament have been alive. This cannot continue forever.

WHY SOUTH AFRICA WON'T WIN THE WORLD CUP.

- CHOKE. Well, its not a pleasant term at all, but South Africa have got this reputation as being world cup chokers for a reason. It was theirs to win in 1999, but a dropped dolly from Herschelle Gibbs and the run out that even my sister could not believe stopped that. They hosted it in 2003, only to knock themselves out for misreading Duckworth Lewis. They collapsed horribly in the 2007 semi finals. Every time it comes around, South Africa are mentioned as one of the favourites, but everyone has a knowing thought of 'how will they duff up this time?'. How will they duff up this time?

- Brittle Lower Order. Now this is something that usually isn't associated with South African cricket. In days gone past, the side had players of the quality of Brian McMillian, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Dave Richardson and Shaun Pollock coming in at numbers 7-9. In recent games however, the lower order has not seemed so strong. Johan Botha is a decent player, but not of the same quality as the aforementioned guys, he is not an international number 7. The make up of their side will prove interesting, whether Robin Peterson is chosen to play purely for his batting ability at 7, or will Colin Ingram slot in at 6 leaving Du Plessis at 7? We shall see.

- The pace attack has no world cup experience. South Africa have included five recognised pace bowlers in their squad. Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell. Kallis is the only one of these who has played at a world cup before, and its unlikely that he will bowl 10 overs a game. Steyn is the premier fast bowler in the world right now, and his pairing with Morkel has been deadly in tests, but will they perform at their first world cup? Will Parnell find his rhythm again?

WHY ENGLAND WON'T WIN THE WORLD CUP.

- They don't know their best combination. Matt Prior was recalled to the squad in place of Steven Davies for the World Cup, disrupting the Strauss/Davies opening combination that had played the previous few games, with success. Prior has since made 2 ducks and has never convinced as an ODI opening batsman. Are England trying too hard to find an Adam Gilchrist? The show starts in less than a month and there are serious question marks over the top of Englands order. If its an attacking option the side want, why not go with Luke Wright at the top? Failing that, Ian Bell has always played well for England opening the side. Despite this, now is not the time for experimentation.

- Paul Collingwood can't buy runs. A key member of the side in all facets, Collingwood is in a terrible run of form that led to him being dropped for the first game of the series vs Australia. He is almost indispensible because of his fantastic fielding and partnership breaking bowling, but can the side afford to have him in the top order in such bad form?

- Injuries. As with a number of other sides in the tournament, England go into it with many injury worries. Stuart Broad hasn't played since the 2nd Ashes test. Graeme Swann picked up an injury at the beginning of this series. If these persist, are the back up guys good enough to fill their shoes? Ajmal Shehzad has been impressive, but he is very inexperienced. Is anyone really convinced by James Tredwell? Is Michael Yardy international class?

WHY WEST INDIES WON'T WIN THE WORLD CUP.

- Where are the bowlers? Sammy, Rampaul, Roach and Russell. This is the sides pace attack. Kemar Roach is a very exciting prospect, but the others are pedestrian at best. The side misses Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, and without those 2 I just can't see the West Indies making serious inroads into the best sides top orders. Who would have guessed that to be the truth only 20 years ago?

- Inconsistency. West Indies are up there with Pakistan on the inconsistent scale. On their day, they have a decent side, but its a rare day when all 11 turn up. Chris Gayle either scores blazing hundreds or nothing at all, Dwayne Bravo has fizzled out a bit after being the sides go to man not long back, Chanderpaul has been fantastic but is on his last legs. Sarwan hasn't played an international in a while and there are question marks over his fitness and form. Kieron Pollard has promised much but delivered little.

- Commitment. Just this year, Gayle, Pollard and Dwayne Bravo refused national side contracts in order to earn bigger money by being freelance players basically. Are they truly committed to the national cause? Has the bandying together of a number of islands into a nation finally caught up on the West Indies? Are some of the players truly representing the West Indies, or their individual islands? Questions that will not be answered.

And thats that for that. In the next one, I'll say who I think will be the new stars of the tournament, and of course who I think will win. Here's a clue, its not Zimbabwe.