World Cup leaves sour taste
- Jonathan Agnew - BBC cricket correspondent
- 29 Apr 07, 08:06 AM
It was a deeply frustrating World Cup - the third in a row that has spectacularly failed to live up to its billing - and one that will be remembered more for events off the field than glorious deeds on it.
The mysterious death of Bob Woolmersome time during the night after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland, devastated the tournament. Even now it still seems incredulous that such a universally liked and respected man might have been murdered because of his involvement with cricket.
We still don't know the outcome of the police inquiry in Jamaica, which completely overshadowed the World Cup – but early in the piece we were treated to two firsts: Herschelle Gibbs hitting six sixesoff the unfortunate Daan van Bunge in St Kitts and the wild-haired Lasith Malinga almost routing South Africawith the first instance of four wickets in four balls in international cricket.
Oh that England could have produced anything remotely as entertaining or productive. They were insipid and uninspired, and their campaign was poorly planned. A miserable winter ended with the resignation of the coach, Duncan Fletcher.
Although their win over West Indies was one of the highlights of the World Cup, the quality of English cricket – and particularly its attitude towards one-day cricket finds itself under review - just 18 months after the triumph of winning the Ashes.
And that's not all that's under review. The format of the tournament, and the petty rules that stifled the natural enthusiasm of Caribbean cricket lovers, need to be urgently addressed.
Forty-nine days is far too long - there was no momentum for the players or the supporters - and after weeks of empty stands because of overpricing, the ridiculous rules that even included the need for conch shells to be registered before being blown were revoked.
You won't find Ireland or Bangladesh complaining about any aspect of the tournament but it is clearly a dreadful error to devise a World Cup that can allow the remotest possibility of India and Pakistan being knocked out before it really gets going.
But the so-called minnows took their chance with Bangladesh beating Indiaand South Africa, while Ireland then comfortably won the showdown between the two. That win - and the earlier one against Pakistan - should do wonders for cricket on the Emerald Isle.
The bottom line is, however, that there was not nearly enough exciting cricket played and the whole thing took far too long. Worse still the farcical final, which could have been played over two days, remember, was an embarrassment to anyone associated with cricket.
What an appalling advert for the game it was - and those responsible must never be allowed to administer a cricket tournament again.
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