Iain Fletcher: England's quest to win the World Cup is badly hampered by injuries and fatigue

There is a line in a Blackadder episode when Edmund turns to his much-put-upon servant and says: "Well done Baldrick. Have a short holiday. There, did you enjoy it?"

How the England cricket team could empathise. They left England on 29 October for Australia and those that managed the full duration, Jonathan Trott, Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell, to name three, returned on Wednesday morning for a break before the World Cup? How long a break? Well, they have already landed in Bangladesh.

The scheduling is ridiculous and could affect England's chances of winning the tournament as the relentless merry-go-round of playing to fill the coffers has left them injury-plagued.

Eoin Morgan is a non-starter with a broken finger, so one of the best one-day batsmen in the world is out and, coupled with Mike Hussey missing out for Australia, the flagship one-day tournament is diminished. It cannot afford such absentees and nor can the teams if they hope to win.

England also have concerns over Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad. That is why the recent 6-1 drubbing in the one-day series down under actually matters little to England. They were exhausted, increasingly depleted and deflated after the euphoria of winning the Ashes. The damage is not psychological but physical and they need Shahzad and Bresnan to recover fully in the group stage. If not, Chris Tremlett could be summoned again.

They have plenty of time, as the group stage lasts a full four weeks. TV could not risk the early demise of India again so all must play for a month to discover that Canada are not better than Australia.

The idea of having second-tier nations in the tournament is excellent. The Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and Scotland on the couple of occasions they have made it have done so by playing excellent cricket in associate tournaments. They have deserved their spots and the effect on the game in those countries is positive. But, this time, the organisers have plotted a circuitous route to the quarter-final stage solely to ensure India make it and the TV money keeps rolling in.

They could reduce the group stages and run another tournament for the losers alongside the final rounds of the main event. If admission was free, cricket lovers could watch good cricket from the second-tier nations. They would have had a chance and, if they failed, they would have a whole new event, still be part of the World Cup circus. However, that is for another discussion.

This time teams have to study the last World Cup on the subcontinent and plot strategies accordingly. In 1995 Sri Lanka won courtesy of some brilliant batting. Their game-plan was simple.Smash the first 15 overs hard and, in Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sanath Jayasuriya, they had two unknown but devastating hitters to open before letting the silky class of Aravinda de Silva capitalise.

Their triumph was thoroughly deserved and a great boost to cricket in Sri Lanka. But will such tactics work again on pitches spread across Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh?

Probably. Not that this helps England. If Strauss opens with Bell and Trott comes in first drop, it is difficult to work out where the hard hit and lofted boundaries will come.

India will deliver if Virender Sehwag hits form, New Zealand similarly with Jesse Ryder and Australia have Shane Watson. Pakistan are unfathomable and are probably still stunned that ex-captain Salman Butt has landed a job commentating on Pakistan TV one week after being found guilty by the ICC of cheating, while the West Indies are still a bit of a shambles, albeit not without talent and if Kieron Pollard has a good tournament then the crowd had best be on good catching form. Surprisingly, South Africa look a bit weak and a lot will depend on AB de Villiers. But is any of this enough to pick a winner?

No. India are at home, have superb cricketers and the added lustre of it being Sachin Tendulkar's last world cup. But they also have the huge pressure of a public that demands victory. Their one triumph in 1983 was achieved at Lord's, far from the Delhi and Mumbai hordes.

If this event goes to plan, sides that struggle in the group stages will hit form and become unstoppable and those that start brilliantly will fade so expect a couple of quarter-final shocks. Just don't try to pick a winner yet. There is a lot of time and plenty of travelling to do before the serious stuff starts. But let's hope it is a great success. If so, cricket in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will receive much needed boosts and the game will start to grow again.