Dew Factor To Make World Cup Interesting: India Coach

Excessive moisture on the field at the Cricket World Cup will make the top-flight ODI competition all the more interesting, India coach Rahul Dravid said.

The 50-over tournament kicks off next Thursday across 10 cities, and all but  six of the 48 matches will be day-night contests.

In India that usually means high moisture on the field after sunset, which  makes the ball moist and difficult to grip.

"India is a big country and there are many venues so it's hard to say it  (dew) is going to be the same everywhere," Dravid said after India's 66-run  loss to Australia in their third and final ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday.

"Each venue and each day will be different. It's one of the hardest things to  predict with dew," he said.

Dew mainly affects bowlers and fielders as day-night matches progress, with  most captains opting to bowl first after winning the toss as a result.

But whether it will be a factor at all is in itself unpredictable.

Dravid, a former India captain, said he had played games on fields where the  ground would be "soaked" the day before but bone-dry by match time.

"As the tournament goes on, at some venues it will be a factor and at some it  may not. It's going to make it more interesting," the 50-year-old said.

India, the top-ranked team across all formats, begin their World Cup campaign  against Australia on October 8 followed by their hotly anticipated clash  against Pakistan.

They will also play two warm-up matches beginning with England in Guwahati on  September 30._AFP