JUST a few days into the 2015 Cricket World Cup and five key areas of concern have already become apparent.

1. MICHAEL CLARKE

WHILE there is no denying the importance of a World Cup on home soil, an Ashes series is looming — and we haven’t beaten England in England for 14 years.

Clarke’s sheer stubbornness in rushing back from what many feared may be a career-ending hamstring injury may be viewed as inspiring, but is it worth him going down again and jeopardising Australia’s crucial Ashes campaign when there is already so much depth in the World Cup batting line-up?

Shane Warne has suggested Cricket Australia has set Clarke up to fail by imposing a strict deadline for his return, controversially stating “they’ve just tried to break him”.

Coach Darren Lehmann denies the claim but we haven’t heard the end of this saga.

2. WEST INDIES

FEW teams loom larger in the history of the Cricket World Cup than the West Indies — winners of the first two tournaments — but the current team, under the untested captaincy of young Jason Holder, is struggling to uphold that legacy.

The West Indies were beaten by four wickets in their opening Pool B match on Monday by minnows Ireland and need a major form improvement when they play Pakistan in Christchurch on Saturday to prevent their campaign dissolving into chaos.

Monday’s loss to a non test-playing nation is only likely to increase speculation about internal discord within the West Indies squad after contentious selections and the appointment of the 23-year-old Holder as captain.

3. ENGLAND

GREATS Geoff Boycott and Ian Botham have led the chorus of boos directed at the hapless English team.

“Brainless”, “bloody stupid”, “clueless” and “hopeless” were among the jibes after its embarrassing 111-run loss to Australia in their World Cup opener on Saturday, while Warnie chimed in by labelling the side “atrocious”.

Skipper Eoin Morgan is the biggest worry of all, falling for a duck in three of his past four one-day innings.

Death bowling is another major concern.

4. BATSMEN DOMINATING

THERE have been six scores of 300-plus in just five matches so far in the tournament, including Ireland chasing down the Windies’ total of 304 with 25 balls to spare.

Yes, the grounds in New Zealand are smaller and the bats have gotten bigger, but the art of tight bowling has fallen by the wayside, with a lack of variety evident.

Glenn McGrath, a master of keeping it tight and building pressure, said he was bewildered by the lack of yorkers.

“It still comes down to execution,” McGrath said. “The final 10 overs — if you can bowl good yorkers at will and pretty much hit them, you’re going to be successful.

“It seems that because people have brought the ramp in, bowling yorkers at the death is a dying art.

“New shots have come in and things like that, but I feel like I could have combated that.”

5. NEW ZEALAND MAY WIN

FOR most Australian fans, this is the biggest worry of all.

The only thing worse than England winning would be our neighbours across the Tasman holding the trophy aloft on March 29.

Australia is still the favourite at $2.50 with Sportsbet, but many are tipping $4.50 shot New Zealand to go all the way.

Led by the explosive Brendon McCullum, the Black Caps are high on confidence, playing at home and are really going to take some beating.

— with wires

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