NICKY ENGLISH HURLING ANALYST:YOU WOULD never have thought back in May that were Cork to be playing Kilkenny in the All-Ireland series, the odds would be so one-sided. At the start of the year Cork emerged as a team that were getting back to form and after the turmoil and problems of recent years, would again be competitive.

When they blitzed Tipperary in the championship there was a temptation to believe the past couple of years had been down to that lack of preparation rather than actual decline.

All the evidence since then, however, has suggested otherwise, particularly in the forwards and in the half-back line, which was absolutely outstanding against Tipp. They haven’t been able to reproduce either that menace in attack or half-back dominance.

Kilkenny have travelled in the other direction. During a quiet league, by their standards, the question could be asked whether they were coming back to the pack or simply taking it easy for the historic championship to come, as Brian Cody doesn’t normally do mediocre leagues.

In their outings in the championship they gave hints of form against Dublin and blew away – albeit an under-performing – Galway and it’s hard to see how Cork can be competitive if Kilkenny are at the level they reached in the Leinster final.

This is taking into account that Cork as underdogs have been traditionally very dangerous. It doesn’t happen that often and it’s very rare they’re complete and utter outsiders like this weekend.

Tipp found out in May the dangers of that.

But a big crowd in Páirc Uí­ Chaoimh and the early-season optimism (even allowing

for a poor league final) created a far more likely setting for an upset than tomorrow in Croke Park.

Still, they don’t have much to lose so you’ve a bunch of proud players coming to Croke Park for a big battle. Two years ago when Kilkenny were at what I believe will come to be seen as their ultimate peak in August and September ’08, Cork fought hard for a long time and Kilkenny had to up the gears to put them away.

They won’t be under as much pressure this time and they will summon something. Also Kilkenny will be under even greater pressure.

The biggest talking point in their big wins over Dublin and Galway was the number of wides. Some of their better forwards have hit a huge amount of wides. Seventeen wides tomorrow will keep Cork in the game and the longer Cork are in it the more dangerous they’ll be.

Eoin Larkin hit a lot of wides in the Leinster final and isn’t back to his best yet. Eddie Brennan has been very goal-hungry, possibly overly so, in both games and hasn’t capitalised on many of those chances.

Although there hasn’t been huge talk about it, I wonder if the five-in-a-row is creating subconscious anxiety that may explain the inaccuracies.

From a Cork perspective, though, that’s clutching at straws. Even the injuries Kilkenny have suffered to serious, in-form players like John Tennyson and Michael Rice, can be covered because of the depth of talent on the bench.

Any combination of Rice, Michael Fennelly and Cha Fitzpatrick is an excellent midfield. Tennyson is a big loss on his Leinster final form, but Brian Hogan has won three All-Irelands at centre back.

Their defence so far has been absolutely outstanding, particularly the half backs, but Jackie Tyrrell has also been playing superb hurling, with John Dalton not far behind him in the other corner. Maybe PJ Ryan looked a little bit vulnerable the last day and Noel Hickey, on his return, hasn’t been seriously tested, but, overall, the defence has been better than last year.

Then factor in that Larkin may have maintained his improvement – he shot a good few wides in the Leinster final, but in his ball winning and overall involvement, was more back to himself. Richie Power is dangerous and showed in the Leinster final he is a key player. Henry Shefflin’s been excellent as usual. Take out the 17 wides against Galway and that would have been a severe trouncing.

Cork, on the other hand, have been having difficulty in every game, with one exception, in putting up scores. Against Tipp they got settled early, got Aisake in to the game and got their goals, which created panic in Tipperary’s defence.

If they’re to win tomorrow they will have to get goals and in general they haven’t looked like doing that. Aisake is still their main threat and he had to be replaced against Antrim. Even allowing for Hickey’s slight trouble with Liam Rushe in the Dublin match, having to bank on him being the weakest link isn’t exactly a guarantee of success.

A Cork win will have to come out of nowhere because the goals needed have to come from an attack that hasn’t been getting them exploiting defensive vulnerabilities that we just haven’t seen so far.

The unchallenged deliveries into full forward that were a feature of the win over Tipperary came from a dominant half-back line. But Tipp have since replaced their half forwards and even though he’s the current All Star, Pádraic Maher isn’t playing full back any more.

Cork’s half backs weren’t allowed dominate against Waterford and when Aisake did get the ball there was no panic.

Otherwise, over-confidence? That’s never happened to Kilkenny under Brian Cody and they’re far more likely to be a bit nervous rather than complacent. More ominously for Cork is the fact that last season everyone got close to Kilkenny without necessarily looking like they were going to beat them but this year the winning margins have been bigger and the performances more dominant.

Cork are also short of options. They didn’t have the depth on the bench Waterford ultimately had and they don’t have the depth Kilkenny have. A number of Brian Cody’s subs would be on Denis Walsh’s team.

Kilkenny-Cork games have always been liable to throw up surprises but on this occasion I just can’t see even the possibility of that happening.