What they say...

Mahela Jayawardene: We have a good chance, Coming into the World Cup and playing a side like Scotland whom we haven't played before, we wanted to make sure that we concentrate really well, focus on the game in hand and we did that.

All round we played really good cricket. We had a 100-run stand, we had a couple of 50-run stands.

The only thing we would have liked to have done is one of the guys batting through the innings and getting 100. Our first target is the Super Eight round and then take case by case as we climb up in ladder.

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SACHIN TENDULKAR: It's not just me, but the entire nation which dreams about this. It's extremely important. We have tried our best in the past and we will continue to do that.

If there has been no success in the recent past, it doesn't mean that we will never achieve it. If we lose hope, then we may as well be back in India. But we have hope and we have pride.

I am looking forward to having a good World Cup. I am hoping that both my batting and bowling will come good," he said. "I am not under any pressure at this time I feel quite confident and I am ready to go.

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GREG CHAPPELL: The Indian side has a good chance of clinching their second title. But I wouldn't let the pressure get to them. We are one of a number of teams who have a good chance of doing well. We are quietly confident that we have the make-up to do well in the tournament and that's the important thing.

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Mickey Arthur: I am satisfied with my South African team's readiness for the tournament. It is all about peaking at the right time and I think, for us, things have been going nicely this season.

We have shown an upward curve so hopefully our planning is coming to fruition. We have a good bowling attack...we have got a lot of variation so I think we back ourselves pretty well and I think this will be the key with the wickets not being tested and the team that adapts best will be able to get the most of it.

We are trying to get as much information about what we are up against and hopefully adapt to what we are going to face.

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Habibul Bashar: Bangladesh's target is the second round. Beating Sri Lanka and India will be a tough job, but not impossible. We went twice to the World Cup without any expectations.Now, we have beaten big teams. We are a much better and mature side."

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Irvine Romaine: I guess Bermuda played reasonably well. Half the time we've done well against England in the warm up game. You can't overlook the fact that we did field well. We just didn't bat as well as we should have and we have the chance to bat better than we did.

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TOM MOODY: Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva and Lasith Malinga are key members of Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign. The trio has come through with some incredible performances over the last 12 to 18 months that have given Sri Lanka the right balance in the batting and bowling departments.

Tharanga's introduction to international cricket has been quite stunning. A young 21-year-old coming into the set-up from nowhere and doing what he's done in both forms of the game is absolutely impressive. He is one who is quite likely to have a very successful World Cup.

Lasith Malinga's development has been incredible and impressive. He also could have a huge impact in this World Cup.

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ARJUNA RANATUNGA: India should win the World Cup. I have never seen a stronger Indian one-day side: it's well-represented in batting and its bowling crop is very, very impressive. It's so good, I guess, that raising the issue of fielding appears a bit improper.

I see a lot of similarity in this side to the one I captained in the World Cup triumph of 1996. It starts at the top and Robin Uthappa showcases the feel-good factor. I was really charmed by his strokeplay in recent weeks.

As I see it, India, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand will be the semi-finalists in this edition. Sri Lanka, because its bowling attack is better than it was in 1996. Chaminda Vaas and Muthiah Muralitharan need no introduction and Lasith Malinga could be the flavour of the team's campaign.

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MICHAEL VAUGHAN: From where we were at the end of January, we've shown that good basic cricket can be competitive against the best in the world,. If we can reach the last four, you never know what could happen. But first and foremost, we need to get the basics right.

I think this World Cup could be a great spectacle," he added. "There are so many islands, grounds and wickets and it could come down to the team which assess the conditions quickest. It is going to be up to us to assess it as players and get it right on the day. The dark horses, from six weeks ago, are us.

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RAHUL DRAVID: I believe India has one of the most balanced sides in the tournament. We have a pretty good team and we are very confident. I know that all the other teams will be aiming to play their best cricket but we are very confident that this is going to be a very good tournament for us.

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Elton Chigumbura: I have always been a naturally aggressive player, though I have often been inhibited by a bad team situation. But I try not to be just a slogger. I use technique instead to get the ball back mainly over the bowler or the off-side field.

I used to just lash out, but I have now learned that it doesn't pay. I would get out early too often and that was bad for the team, especially as I usually bat a bit lower down."

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IMZAMAM-Ul-HAQ: Every great player has his time, they serve their time, that's life, that's the way it is so when the time comes, so be it. I am confident and I have worked hard in the nets and I am looking forward to the World Cup and I will do my best at this level.

I believe in our team and we believe in ourselves and definitely we will try do well in the World Cup. In one-day internationals, every team is tough but one man can change the outcome of a game and one good game can change the whole scenario.

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Ravindu Shah: I am hungry to score runs again at the top. When you compare the Australians on how much they have played and how much we have played there is a big difference," he said.

"By the time this players reach 35, 34 or 33 they would have played nearly 300 to 400 ODIs but when you look at the Kenyan team we started at the same time 10 years ago and we have played between 60 to 70 matches. I believe we still have a lot of cricket in us.

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Mark Waugh: I believe Adam Gilchrist must take more time with his batting. He is that good a player, he can score runs without trying to overhit the ball, Waugh. I think he has been too impatient. He has got to get through that first five or six overs.

If he does that, he is one guy who can score heavily without even trying to. My best-case scenario is to be back for the warm-up games and my worst-case scenario is to be back just for the first game.

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Jacob Oram: I am willing to cut off my injured ringfinger if it is going to prevent me from playing in the World Cup. If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the worse-case scenario, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this.

We've got a couple of techniques in terms of taping and a couple of guards which are a lot thinner so they can fit into a batting glove. I'm confident it'll be fine. You know when your finger's not going straight it's bad news.

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RICKY PONTING: One-day teams will reach totals of 500 in the future. That I doubt the massive score will be achieved during the World Cup. We laugh when we say 500 plus but we laughed at 400 as well.

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BRIAN LARA: Australia deserves favoritism, that's something the West Indies team does not want to carry. We do not want to be one of the front runners. We want to slowly get into our stride and surprise people coming to the end.

I must say that a lot of the Test-playing nations have drawn very close together competitively and it's very hard to say that there is any one or two countries that's going to control the World Cup and win it.

We do have the players and the standards of our cricket over the last couple of years has definitely raised and we have a team that could get to the World Cup finals and win it.