Ponting and Virat are the players to watch: Gilchrist

As I write this, the first game of the 10th World Cup is underway. This is the first World Cup in a post-Twenty20 cricket world, and I hope it will establish that there is a place for all three versions of the game. What is required is a control on the amount of cricket that is being played and if that happens, Tests, one-dayers and T20s will all flourish.

It will be interesting to see how the Twenty20 effect will rub off on the World Cup. Just as the one-day format did impact Tests, the T20 format will also have a spillover effect into one-dayers and that might be a change that we would see in this World Cup vis-a-vis the earlier editions. There are many elements that make one-dayers a very interesting version.

There are quiet periods, there are opportunities to rebuild and regroup after a crisis and there are situations in which one can go full throttle. Since there is a 50-over time frame each match has various sub-plots and passages of play that make it very absorbing.

The World Cup is a hectic time for all teams thanks to the condensed nature of the competition. It will be interesting to see how the various innovations will be used in the World Cup and whether batsmen will be taking out the reverse sweeps and switch hits during the competitions. By the same coin, it will be interesting to see how bowlers encounter these shots.

The slower ball, the slow bumper, the use of the crease and going round the wicket are the new ammo that bowlers use. The use of the spin bowler will also be interestingly planned and I'm sure that in subcontinent conditions some teams will use spinners early in the game.

It's bears repetition that this is a very even World Cup. And with six or seven teams in the fray, I will be looking out for a number of players. Two players who could be game-makers for their respective teams are Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli, and I pick them for vastly different reasons. Ricky has had a difficult summer and he missed the one-dayers in Australia through injury. He is a proud cricketer and would be keyed up for this tournament. If he strikes form with the bat Australia have a chance of winning an unbelievable fourth consecutive World Cup.

Virat on the other hand is a young player who is eager to announce himself. He has the potential to do well at the big stage and this is his moment to make a contribution to his team.