It feels a bit early to start a Cricket World Cup thread but there’s no shortage of ODIs going on as teams prepare.

I caught the highlights of NZ vs Bangladesh and it was a comfortable if not unexpected win for the home side. Bangladesh are pretty decent but not in the same class and not unlike most sides, play better at home.

I had a quick look at the CWC odds and NZ are a tempting 10-1 given they are the pick of the outsiders and capable of beating anyone on their day. South Africa were an equally tempting 8-1 given they are expected to go through to the semi-finals and then it’s anyone’s game. A lot depends on how Australia fare and to what extent the returning batsmen feature and how they integrate with the team.

Anyway, enough CWC chat for now, looking forward to the Windies-England series, with the 50-over specialists arriving from England and the behemoth that is Chris Gayle returning for the Windies.