The world’s best players have arrived on Australian and New Zealand soil for six weeks of one day cricket, which will see one team take home cricket’s most prestigious prize, the World Cup trophy.

Let’s take a look at the teams in Pool B and the impact they will have on this year’s tournament.

India
Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma

After the 2011 World Cup in India the nation was in party mode. India had just secured their first World Cup win and the expectation was they would finally become the true powerhouse of world cricket.

Fast forward four years, and India are anything but a powerhouse (outside of India). A thus-far winless tour of Australia sees them enter the tournament with both their confidence and hopes of defending the World Cup low.

Despite their form of late, there is potential in India’s batting stocks. They have done a good job of replacing their retired champions and put together a batting force that will be dominant in years to come. With the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina in the top five the Indian batting unit will have a real influence on the tournament as they attempt to bat opposition sides out of the game.

Although their batting is extremely talented I cannot see India progressing deep into the tournament as their bowling is just not strong enough. Furthermore, Australian conditions don’t suit the way India play as their batsman generally struggle with the extra bounce in the pitches and their bowlers can’t seem to find the correct line and length.

It would take something extreme to prevent the Indians from progressing to the quarters but once the knockout stage begins I cannot see them beating any of the teams from Pool A.

Prediction: Knocked out in quarter-finals.

South Africa
Squad: AB De Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton De Cock, Jean Paul Duminy, Faf Du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn

The dominant side of the past five years, South Africa enter the 2015 Cricket World Cup with high expectations. In past years the South Africans have struggled with the pressures of a World Cup but the squad they have assembled this summer could bring cricket’s most prestigious prize to African soil for the first time.

Let’s begin with the batsman. Headlined by arguably the best player in the world at the moment AB de Villiers, South Africa’s batting order will strike fear into opposing sides. With Hashim Amla, Quinton De Kock, and David Miller to support De Villiers, expect the South Africans to pile on the runs.

South Africa’s bowling attack is full of class players who can all be match winners. Headlined by Dale Steyn and with Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott in support, their fast bowlers will have no trouble with Australian conditions as the pitches offer the pace and bounce the South Africans favour. Their bowling is also bolstered by the coming of age of leg spinner Imran Tahir who has really made a name for himself as an elite one-day spin bowler.

The South Africans are as ready as can be for the World Cup. They should cruise through the group stage and push hard towards their first World Cup title.

Will South Africa finally break their World Cup hoodoo or will they have to wait another four years?

Prediction: Runner-up

Pakistan
Squad: Misbah-Al-Haq (C), Ahmed Shehzad, Ehsan Adlil, Haris Sohail, Mohammed Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younus Khan

One of the dark horses of the World Cup, Pakistan enters the tournament with a sense of uncertainty. Their one-day form of late has not been great, with losses to Australia (3-0) and New Zealand (3-2), (2-0) both home and away in the past six months. Despite this the Pakistanis are definitely a chance to go a long way in the tournament.

Pakistan’s squad displays much potential with quality batsmen and bowlers who on their day can mix it with the world’s best. Featuring Younus Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, and Shahid Afridi in the top six, expect lots of 300+ scores.

Pakistan’s strength in bowling lie in plentiful spin stocks, with Yasir Shah and Shahid Afridi set to both have a serious impact on the tournament. Being leg spinners, Shah and Afridi will be wreak havoc on opposition sides sharply spinning the ball away from the right-handers.

One weakness for Pakistan is an inexperienced pace attack. Mohammed Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, and Sarfraz Ahmed lack the consistency to be world-class. This is a major concern as in Australia generally the quicks are relied on to bowl the side to victory.

Pakistan would have expectations of reaching at least the semi-finals, and they should achieve – and possibly even go one step further.

Prediction: Semi-finalists

West Indies
Squad: Jason Holder (C), Marlon Samuels, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Nikita Milller

The last 12 months have been a disaster for West Indian cricket. The team is in complete disarray having not won a one-day series against a top-eight side in over two years. The problems continue off the field with star players Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo left out of the squad due to issues with the West Indies Cricket Board.

So how is it that we still can’t write this troublesome side off? The answer is simple: they have too much talent to be ignored.

If star players such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy, Kemar Roach and Andre Russell can find some form, the Windies could easily be a very dangerous side later in the competition. But inconsistency is their biggest issue, the Windies lacking genuine support for their star players and struggling for discipline both with bat and ball. These two issues have caused the West Indies to plummet to their lowest of lows.

Big man Chris Gayle can turn things around for the West Indies. With an average of 36.85 and 21 one-day hundreds, Gayle is the only player capable of truly carrying the Windies to victory, making him crucial to the team’s fortunes. Along with his immense batting power he is also a very handy off spinner who can take crucial wickets.

Unfortunately for West Indian fans the short-term future doesn’t look great. A lack of discipline and structure throughout their set up needs to be fixed immediately. Expect the Windies to qualify relatively easily for the knockout stages but go no further.

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

Zimbabwe
Squad: Elton Chigumbura (C), Sikander Raza, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Payangara, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams

Perhaps the best of the minnow nations participating in the tournament, Zimbabwe’s main goal of the Cricket World Cup will be to produce as many upsets as possible against prominent Test playing nations.

After their impressive tri-series against Australia and South Africa earlier in the year, that included a famous win over the Aussies, Zimbabwe whimpered to a dismal 5-0 loss to Bangladesh only months later. In the aftermath of the Bangladesh embarrassment Zimbabwe took action, sacking coach Stephen Mongogo and bringing in the experienced Dav Whitmore as his replacement.

Whatmore experienced World Cup success with Sri Lanka in 1996 and will put every ounce of his knowledge into helping the Zimbabweans be a competitive side.

Zimbabwe’s hopes of a quarter-final appearance lie with their most accomplished player Brendan Taylor. The former one-day captain is the glue that holds the Zimbabwean batting order together; having played for over 10 years and he will look to use his maturity and class to anchor the Zimbabwe innings. He is also a very handy wicketkeeper, adding to his importance within the team. With a solid average of 33.27 from 161 matches he is the man to take Zimbabwe forward to a possible quarter-finals berth.

Despite showing promise in the warm-up matches, defeating Sri Lanka on Thursday, Zimbabwe aren’t quite good enough to crack the knockout stage. Still, expect them to be competitive in every match they play, and possibly to even pull off an upset against the likes of India, Pakistan or the West Indies.

Zimbabwe are a work in progress at the moment and with a new coach and relatively young squad they will already have their sights set on the 2019 Cricket World Cup as an opportunity to break into the knockout stages.

Prediction: Knocked out in group stage

UAE
Squad: Mohammed Tauqir (C), Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Andri Berenger, Fahad Alhashmi, Manjula Guruge, Kamran Shazad, Khurram Khan, Krishna Chandran, Mohammed Naveed, Nasir Aziz, Swapnil Patel, Rohan Mustafa, Saqlain Haider, Shaiman Anwar

Having being absent from the last tournament the UAE are back in business. After a confidence-building 3-1 series win over Afghanistan late last year, the UAE have a sense of belief and excitement about them as they climb world cricket’s rankings.

The UAE enjoyed an extremely successful qualifying campaign, finishing second in a strong competition. Throughout the qualifying period the UAE only lost to Scotland, and overcame the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and Namibia.

The star player within the UAE squad is 43-year-old batsman Khurram Khan. Coming off a career-best year in 2014, in which he scored 334 runs in six matches at a whopping average of 83.5, he enters the tournament in top form. Having scored the first century in the history of UAE cricket he will be crucial to their chances of winning matches. Khan is an extremely powerful, intelligent player who will anchor the UAE’s batting.

Despite their steady improvement over the past five years the UAE are ultimately here to make up the numbers. The primary aims for the UAE are to finish above the other minor nations and compete strongly against the top countries.

I can’t see them upsetting a powerhouse side, with their only real chances of a victory coming against Ireland, Zimbabwe and possibly the West Indies.

Prediction: Knocked out in group stage

Ireland
Squad: William Porterfield (C), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew Mcbrine, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Entering their third Cricket World Cup campaign, the time is now for Ireland to establish themselves as a potential Test-playing nation, with a strong World Cup performance. Having taken out the Dubai triangular series in January against Afghanistan and Scotland, the Irish come into the tournament with good form under their belt and looking to create some big upsets in Pool B.

The Irish have always been seen by the cricketing world as the ‘best of the rest’ as they have consistently won the associate tournaments. They are the associate nation most likely of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament and will definitely believe they can overcome the likes of Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

The star of the Irish squad would have to be dynamic allrounder Kevin O’Brien. The pink-haired sensation starred for Ireland in their dramatic come-from-behind win against the English in the 2011 World Cup, scoring a super-fast hundred at the death. In the past year O’Brien has been excellent with the bat amassing an impressive 245 runs from just eight games with a strike rate of 84.19. He can also chip in with the ball if called upon and take important wickets in the middle overs.

Despite their good form I can’t see them making the quarter-finals due to the superior class of the West Indies and Zimbabwe. I can however see the Irish pulling off another magical upset in Pool B and they should steer clear of the bottom of the table.

Prediction: Knocked out in group stage

Summary
The battle for fourth spot in Pool B is set to be a tight one, with the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland all in contention to claim that last spot in the knock-out stage.

Watch out for
Runs, runs and more runs. Pool B is clearly dominated by batsmen, with players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, AB De Villiers, Younus Khan and Chris Gayle featuring. Expect a lot of 250-plus scores.

Don’t hold your breath for
The Indians to make it past the quarter-finals. They just don’t seem to adapt well to the extra bounce in the Australian pitches and the feeling of playing in front of an away crowd.

Pool B ladder prediction
1. South Africa
2. Pakistan
3. India
4. West Indies
5. Zimbabwe
6. Ireland
7. UAE