World Cup jigsaw puzzle starts to take shape

Russell Domingo could be squint in two weeks' time, what with having to keep one eye on India and the other on the United Arab Emirates while he packs for New Zealand and Australia.

By the time SA take on New Zealand in the first of three one-day internationals on October 21, three of the sides Domingo's team will meet in the group stage of next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will have played a total of eight ODIs in the space of two weeks.

Australia and Pakistan had the first match of their series in the Emirates on Tuesday, and yesterday India and West Indies clashed in Kochi in the first game of their rubber.

Of those sides, the Aussies are the odd men out - they are in pool A for the World Cup. The other teams are in pool B, along with SA.

Domingo is known for doing his homework diligently and there can be little doubt that he will learn all he can about SA's World Cup opponents.

But should he bother, considering SA's first match in the tournament, against Zimbabwe in Hamilton on February 15, is still more than four months away?

"It's worth taking a good look at these games, and especially at the players who will have a big influence on the World Cup," former SA batsman Boeta Dippenaar said yesterday.

However, any knowledge gained would have to be assessed against the fact that the slow pitches in India and the Emirates are a world away from what players will have to deal with in Australasia next year.

"The conditions might not be a fair reflection of the teams' ability," Dippenaar said. "For instance, someone like Mitchell Johnson blasts people out. He does not have the skill of a bowler like Glenn McGrath. So, like we saw in Zimbabwe, he may not be that effective in the UAE. But he will be much more dangerous in Australia."

Johnson took four wickets at an average of 38.00 in the four matches he played in the triangular one-day series in Zimbabwe in August and September - a far cry from the 22 he claimed at 17.36 in three Tests in SA last season.

But SA will have noticed that Johnson took 3/24 against Pakistan on Sharjah's sluggish surface on Tuesday. Steve Smith's 101 - the key performance in the Aussies' 93-run win - will also not have escaped their notice.

Similarly, Marlon Samuels' 126 not out for the Windies in Kochi yesterday, as well as the fact that the men in maroon put 321/6 on the board despite Mohammed Shami taking four wickets, will be deposited into the memory bank.

South Africans will be tempted to believe the conditions at the World Cup will favour their team over sides from the Asian subcontinent, but they should not forget that the last time the tournament was played Down Under, in 1992, the champions were Pakistan.

West Indies, too, cannot be disregarded. Just hours before the start of yesterday's game, their players were threatening to go on strike because of a pay dispute with their board. Once that was averted, they got on with thrashing India.