When Dwayne Leverock bowls to Sachin Tendulkar in the World Cup, it will be more than just a contest between a spinner carrying extra flab and a batsman having extra strokes.

It will be moment to relish for the Bermudian left-arm spinner if he dismisses the Indian batting superstar, the world's leading scorer with 14,783 runs and a record 41 centuries.

No prize for guessing which cricketer stands to gain more from the Group B game here on March 19 -- Leverock, who is playing his first World Cup, or Tendulkar, who will be making his 382nd one-day appearance.

Six non-Test-playing nations -- Canada, Bermuda, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland and Kenya -- will be in fray in group matches starting on Tuesday, with the sole aim of enjoying just one day in the sun.

The lesser-known players have hitched their wagons to the stars at the big stage, like Canadian John Davison who was least expected to hammer the fastest Cup century when Brian Lara, Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting were around.

"John who?"

The question became irrelevant after Davison smashed a 67-ball hundred in a group match against the West Indies at Centurion in the 2003 edition in South Africa.

That was the day when even batting masters were pushed into the background and forced to acknowledge a masterpiece from a minnow.

He batted without fear of failure, treating the West Indies attack with sheer disdain in an engrossing display of stroke-making.

Davison was to catch the attention again with his power-hitting. It came against New Zealand in a group game at Benoni when he raced to his half-century off just 25 balls, the third fastest in the tournament history.

The World Cup has provided opportunities to minnows to grab the headlines simply because they go into the mega event with "nothing to lose and everything to gain" attitude.

Zimbabwe were one of the qualifers in the 1987 edition in the sub-continent when they nearly pulled off an upset in their opening group match against New Zealand, thanks to Dave Houghton.

Houghton had played just six one-dayers before hammering a 137-ball 142 with six sixes and 13 fours at Hyderabad to give a big scare to New Zealand, who eventually won by three runs.

Zimbabwe had always been impressive qualifiers, often testing big teams. They made a memorable Cup debut in 1983 when they surprised Australia in their opening game at Trent Bridge.

Their star was Duncan Fletcher, the current England coach. He hit an unbeaten 69 as a lower-order batsman and then grabbed four wickets to help his team pull off a stunning 13-run victory.

It was the turn of Zimbabwean chicken farmer Eddo Brandes to earn fame in 1992 as the paceman grabbed four crucial wickets to bowl his side to victory over England at Albury.

The impressive one-day performances eventually led to Zimbabwe's first Test in late 1992.

Sri Lanka were also tough customers as a non-Test-playing nation, impressing the cricket authorities with their gutsy performances. They gave a brave display against eventual 1975 runners-up Australia at the Oval.

Batsmen Sunil Wettimuny and Duleep Mendis were taken to hospital for X-rays after being struck by paceman Jeff Thomson, but not before playing parts in their team's chase.

Sri Lanka were eventually restricted to 276-4 in reply to their opponents' 328-5. They did better in the next edition when they shocked India. Their Cup performances also helped them gain Test status in early 1980s.

But the best by a non-Test-playing nation came from Kenya, who qualified for the semi-finals in 2003.

The minnows need not lose heart as they have something to draw inspiration from when they begin their World Cup campaign.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)