India will be out to prove their World No 1 status when they take on South Africa on Thursday in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Athers on South Africa
South Africa's squad looks distinctly like one in transition in the absence of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Vernon Philander.
The team's strength lies in seam bowling but even the threat posed by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel may not be enough to make up for perceived weaknesses elsewhere in batting (highlighted by their defeat in the warm-up match v Pakistan) and the spin department.
Overall I'd say that their batting does not look as strong or as dangerous as that of other teams in the group.
That said, David Miller is a serious talent as we have seen in domestic cricket; he's yet to top 67 in 20 ODI matches but if he can transfer his IPL form to the 50-over format then he could be the player to watch out for.
Weighing everything up - including the quality of the opposition - I think that South Africa may not get through their group.
Bob on West Indies
The reigning T20 champions won this tournament in England back in 2004.
It was a bit of a surprise when they decided to give the captaincy to Dwayne Bravo but I don't think that is going to cause any particular ripples in the camp, even though Darren Sammy is still in the squad.
It was important for them to get Ramnaresh Sarwan back and that adds weight to my theory that they are much stronger in the batting department than they are in the bowling.
Few bowlers will relish bowling at the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo if they get in and when they do this is a side that is capable of beating anybody. They have plenty of batsmen who can play in an unorthodox manner and a good spattering of all-rounders, too.
I'm more concerned about their bowling options. Sunil Narine may well be less tricky to play in English conditions but he'll have to be played with respect for certain. But how effective will their 'strike' bowlers be?
Ravi Rampaul is pretty steady and has his day occasionally. Bravo and Gayle will turn their arm over, while Marlon Samuels will do a job and Sammy is another handy lower-order all-rounder if picked. But overall I don't think they have enough bowling quality to take advantage of English conditions.
Given that there will be two new balls, it will be fascinating to see whether sides are going to play in an orthodox manner and forget about the first powerplay or whether they'll go 'hell for leather'. With Gayle to the fore, we may well see the West Indies deploying some T20 tactics in the first few overs to try and get off to a lightning start.
If that happens, I think they will get through that group and progress through to the semi-finals. Then they've got as good a chance as anybody.
Watch India take on South Africa in the first match of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 10am on Thursday.
