The ninth Cricket World Cup, which starts in the Caribbean next month, is likely to prove as much a test of endurance as it will be of bat against ball.

A packed international programme has left several sides with injury worries even before a tournament lasting the best part of two months and encompassing more than 50 matches has started.

Even world champions Australia, beaten three times in a row by England during the recent triangular series, are vulnerable without their best players and some of them may not make it to the West Indies.

Fast bowler Brett Lee has rated himself only "fifty-fifty" after sustaining ankle ligament damage in New Zealand where the hosts inflicted Australia's first 10-wicket defeat in a one-day international on Friday.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Andrew Symonds (bicep), batsman Michael Clarke (hip) and captain Ricky Ponting (back) are all concerns while dynamic wicket-keeper/batsman Adam Gilchrist could miss the start of the World Cup to be with his pregnant wife when she gives birth.

Nevertheless, as they showed when Shane Warne was kicked out at the start of the last World Cup in South Africa for drugs offences, Australia are capable of overcoming the loss of key players and still winning.

It will be interesting to see how the likes of pace bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait perform in support of veteran spearhead Glenn McGrath, in his international swansong, especially if Lee is unfit.

England too have fitness worries, starting with captain Michael Vaughan, who recently sustained a hamstring injury having been out for most of the past year with a knee problem.

However, England appear desperate to have Vaughan in their World Cup team, even though he has never scored a one-day hundred, in a bid to lift the burden of captaincy from key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. There are doubts too over pace bowlers James Anderson (back) and Jon Lewis (ankle).

England's revival after their Ashes mauling was all the more creditable given it was completed without hard-hitting batsman Kevin Pietersen, out with a rib injury but expected to be fit for the World Cup.

"I read some comments a couple of weeks ago that England shouldn't turn up in the Caribbean," said England's chairman of selectors David Graveney. "Now I read comments that we are second favourites. It's probably somewhere in between."

But if the likes of batting all-rounder Paul Collingwood can maintain their form a first World Cup title may yet be possible.

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, all former World Cup winners, have reason to fancy their chances.

India well led by Rahul Dravid and with Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and the restored Sourav Ganguly, have a powerful batting line-up.

Ganguly, who starred in the 2-1 home win over Sri Lanka concluded Saturday, said: "We will get similar wickets in the West Indies and it is good that the players are in good form. This is a good outfit."

Pakistan have a cloud hanging over fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

The pair, who had doping bans controversially rescinded in December, face life bans if they test positive again.

"We definitely do not have replacements for Asif and Akhtar. It would be tough without them," said Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Sri Lanka, with Sanath Jayasuriya still a potent force, have several aggressive strokemakers and, in off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, together with pacemen Chaminda Vaas and the awkward Lasith Malinga, an attack that can overcome the odds stacked against bowlers in one-dayers.

For South Africa, the challenge will be to keep their nerve.

In 1999 they went out in a semi-final tie against Australia and four years ago a failure to understand the Duckworth-Lewis regulations for rain-affected matches saw them exit against Sri Lanka.

They remain without a frontline spinner but any side that can scored 438, a world record for a one-day international between two Test nations, as they did against Australia last year in Johannesburg, has to be respected.

New Zealand suffered a potentially cruel blow when big-hitting all-rounder Jacob Oram sustained a finger injury in their 10-wicket trouncing of Australia.

The Black Caps have a canny captain in Stephen Fleming and in Ross Taylor a batsman who will help them overcome the shock retirement of Nathan Astle.

Hosts West Indies, under the captaincy of Brian Lara can, on their day, beat anyone although by including Marlon Samuels in their squad, despite the batsman's alleged links with an Indian bookmaker, they could yet face off-field disruption.

The way in which the tournament has been set up means it will be a major shock if the world's leading eight Test nations don't make it through to the second phase 'Super Eight' stage where, in a bid to make the initial stages relevant, points won against fellow qualifiers will be carried through.

By including two minnows per qualifying group, the International Cricket Council (ICC) risks some dreadful mismatches to add to the bad publicity the tournament has already received for hugely inflated hotel prices, a consequence of staging it in the Caribbean during the height of the tourist season.

There are also concerns regarding the long-term viability of expensive new stadia that have been built specially for the World Cup.

But if the players produce enough moments of magic then the first World Cup in the West Indies could still be a success.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)