On the eve of the opening match, four of the Cricket Web staff give their opinions on how the tournament will go. James Nixon - owner of Cricket Web and a devout Kiwi, Martyn Corrin - the site's resident blinkered England fan, Ganesh Venkatasubramanian - a US-based India obsessive and Will Quinn, a neutral(ish) Irishman all have a go at predicting the future.

So who's going home with the trophy?

James: Sri Lanka - mainly thanks to Malinga and Murali.

Martyn: India- they'll retain it in style.

Ganesh: India.

Will: Hard to look past India again.


Who will be the beaten finalists?

James: India.

Martyn: Pakistan- again!

Ganesh: South Africa.

Will: South Africa.


Which batsman will score the most runs?

James: Jayasuriya, one last golden tournament for him.

Martyn: MS Dhoni to have a great one.

Ganesh: Rohit Sharma.

Will: Gautam Gambhir. Every bit as talented as Sehwag, but not quite as crazy.


And who will take the most wickets?

James: Harbhajan Singh.

Martyn: Stuart Broad.

Ganesh: Fidel Edwards.

Will: Daniel Vettori. Best limited overs spinner in the world.


Who will be the surprise package of the tournament?

James: Australia, by failing to make the semis.

Martyn: England to make the semi-finals- which is much better than anyone here is predicting!

Ganesh: West Indies. A lot of people are writing them off, but they could turn the tables on Australia and in the Super Eights will probably eliminate England.

Will: The Netherlands. With Pakistan and England they're in a group with two sides prone to spontaneous combustion, and it only takes Dirk Nannes or Ryan ten Doeschate to fire for an upset to be on the cards.


Any other predictions?

James: Austalia to have an awful tournament which will lead to questions on how their minds are leading into the Ashes.

Martyn: Graham Napier will score a hatful against the Netherlands and do little else.

Ganesh: Yuvraj tore into Broad last time, but this time I expect Chris Gayle to smack Brett Lee for six fours in an over. Also, Collingwood's "brave" campaign will turn into a "sore" campaign.

Will: Boyd Rankin to become the first bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings, sending Ireland into the Super Eights at the expense of Bangladesh. They'll immediately crash out in the next round though after England call Rankin up as a replacement for the still-injured Ryan Sidebottom.

Please feel free to leave a comment below. Join us in three weeks as we see how everyone fared...