EXCLUSIVE

Perth: Mark Taylor, a distinguished former captain of Australia, spoke to The Telegraph at the Hyatt Regency on Wednesday afternoon.

Taylor, incidentally, is a director on the board of Cricket Australia and is hugely respected across the board.

Excerpts...

Q What's your take on the first two-and-a-half weeks of the World Cup?

A I've been quite impressed, not only by some of the bigger nations, but the small ones, too... Ireland stunned the West Indies, Afghanistan have had their moments going into the match against Australia... It all shows that, globally, cricket is generally in good health.

Would you then endorse 10 teams only in the 2019 World Cup?

It's a hard one, because I do favour a shorter tournament... Seven weeks is much too long for a cricket World Cup. Because of the time a game of cricket consumes, the sport is unique, but is difficult to organise. You can't, for example, have three matches in a day... While the smaller nations will get less of a chance, the fight to make it to the top-10 would be more intense.

So, the first two-and-a-half weeks have gone according to script...

Wouldn't say according to script, but I also wouldn't say anything unusual happened... Australia lost to New Zealand the other day, but that wouldn't be termed unusual... Of course, the West Indies losing to Ireland was a surprise, not a shock... The West Indies look disjointed. They do have some players who could help win matches, but don't have the look of a team which combines well. That's a shame. You can't win a World Cup by being good one minute and terrible the very next.

Standout performances?

AB de Villiers's 162 not out off 66 balls against the West Indies. He's unstoppable when he gets going... Then, two bowling performances come to mind straightaway - Trent Boult (10-3-27-5) and Mitchell Starc (9-0-28-6) in the Australia-New Zealand match. The trend in ODIs is for more and more runs to be scored. That's good from an entertainment point of view, but not good from the point of view of balance. So, it's good when fast bowlers get wickets... The best way to keep the run rate down is to take wickets.

As we speak, the hottest teams are...

It's tough to look beyond Australia, India, New Zealand and South Africa... However, I wouldn't keep Sri Lanka out of the mix.

Have India impressed you?

They have... For their first 80 days or so in Australia, India didn't look as if they were quite up to it. In the World Cup, that has changed. India look lean and hungry, with Virat Kohli leading with the bat. He's done so right through the summer.

Could New Zealand be peaking early?

It's good to be winning, but form in the latter half of March will matter, not the form in February.

Has any captain stood out in this World Cup?

It's still fairly early in the tournament... Brendon McCullum's been very good, particularly in the match against Australia. He introduced Daniel Vettori at the perfect time, which put the brakes on Australia.

Today, who is the finest captain, irrespective of the format?

Michael Clarke, I feel, is the clear leader in terms of tactical awareness... (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni's been good in limited overs cricket... De Villiers likes to lead from the front in ODIs. Different captains have different qualities.

Any one captain you'll be following with interest in the rest of the World Cup?

I'll be interested to see how Sri Lanka fare, just how far they go and how Angelo Mathews will lead them. His captaincy, specifically the way he uses the spinners, could be a factor. Sri Lanka play Australia in Sydney on Sunday and that match will give a very good idea just where they're placed.

You captained Australia to the final of the 1996 World Cup... What's that extra something which is required?

Being in form when the business end comes... Getting it right in the quarter final, the semi-final and the final. This World Cup, for example, is really going to begin on March 18, with the start of the quarters. As a player, it's also important to enjoy the tournament.

Finally... Would you pick the possible winner?

(Laughs) Oh, no... It's too early.

Footnote: After Australia thrashed Afghanistan, Taylor said: 'We got everything we needed out of the match. Very satisfying... However, the real test will be on Sunday, at the SCG.'