411mania's 2007 Cricket World Cup Coverage: Group Stage Review
Posted by Andy Bracken on 03.28.2007
Looking back at the eventful first stage of the World Cup.
"Off the field, frenzy has replaced clam and informed debate. Victories and defeats are no longer part and parcel of a fascinating game. Someone is to blame. Someone must pay the penalty." -Peter Roebuck, Cricket Journalist
Now, a few short weeks ago, when I sat down to write my Cricket World Cup Preview, I racked my brains trying to predict what could happen this year. I could have sat down for months, and I still wouldn't have picked the pre-eminent news story of this CWC.
After losing to the semi-professional Irish side, the Pakistan coach, the South African born former England test player Bob Woolmer, returned to his hotel room in the knowledge that his side was going to be out of the tournament in the first round. Sometime between his return to his hotel and the following morning, person or persons unknown entered his room and strangled him to death.
As with any high profile, unsolved murder, theories as to the identity of the killers have been flying thick and fast. Bookies trying to protect crooked players from a whistle-blower, enraged Pakistani fans, and even Pakistan team members who were sharing motivation with either the aforementioned bookies or fans have all had the shadow of implication cast over them.
My opinion? No idea. Every theory is as plausible as the others, and like everyone else who has speculated thus far, I'd just be guessing.
The point I will make, though, is that while Woolmer has lost his life, cricket itself is on life-support. The image of the game has been destroyed, and this crisis has brought more damage upon the fabric of the game than anything before.
Regardless as to the blame for this individual crime, the exploitation of a beautiful game has definite culprits. The administrators of the game, from the ICC to the national boards, has done their level best to rape and plunder every cent they could manage from the game for the past couple of decades, and this extra money has become a poisoned challis. In some countries (India primarily, but there are others) sponsors and player agents now have more impact on the training schedules of players than their coaches do. Meaningless One-Day International tournaments are played month in and month out, which have the dual impact of giving unscrupulous bookmakers easy targets, as well as diluting the quality of those important tournaments because of the unavoidable burnout of top players.
The entire history of the game has been sacrificed to the almighty dollar. Three decades ago, a player would be considered unique if he played 70 or 80 tests. Now, a slightly above average career nets a player at least 100 tests and 200 ODIs. Career records get broken constantly, leading to the anomaly that past players, no matter how successful, recede from every "all-time" statistic list as a matter of course, generally in favour of players that couldn't lace their shoes.
How did it get like this? It started in post-colonial India. Fed up with the undemocratic ways that gave the English and Australian interests absolute control over the game, they, along with the other sub-continental nations, threatened to break away from the international game. They succeeded in democratising the ICC, and then, as is generally the case when power shifts to those who have been previously denied it, they went too far.
An Indian administrator, Jagomir Dalmiya, was elected to lead the ICC, and he set about ensuring that the ICC relied on the financial might of the Indian population to maintain itself. In that light, he then started putting into place measures that clamped Indian control over the game, setting up a voting bloc in the ICC that delivered three of the then eight votes, and then admitting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, while using their capital to bring the West Indies and South Africa to their side.
Dalmiya has long since departed, but his legacy is that the sub-continental bloc now rules the game with an iron fist. They control the money, and because of the reliance on that money, they control everything from match scheduling to team and player disciplinary matters, even to the point of being able to remove umpires who have impeccable decision-making records for perceived slights.
(Yes, I'm talking about Darryl Hair. His removal was nothing less than corrupt, and was a glaring symptom of this same mess.)
With this sub-continental revolution, all that has happened is that one unjust, corruptible international system has been replaced with another one. Those who fought the system based on the relics of colonialism have replaced it with a new type of fiscal colonialism.
Yes, Cricket is on life support, but it will survive. Cricket needs administrators that have the gumption to stand up to those who have made money the priority over the integrity of the game. More to the point, they need to be willing to reject the lure of money in the interests of the game, which as the ultimate custodians, is their responsibility. Hopefully, the tragic death of a fine ambassador of a game that he dedicated his life to will have the effect of bringing about some sort of change.
As to those that have advocated cancelling the tournament in the light of Woolmer's murder (Allan Donald, among others)- give a a frigging rest. To cancel the biggest tournament in the world would be an injustice to those who love the game, Woolmer included. It may be a cliché, but the game is bigger than any man.
RIP Robert Andrew Woolmer. May your killers be brought to justice, and may your untimely demise lead to your game being refreshed.
Now, What About the Cricket?
From my CWC review:
I would be very surprised if the Super 8 isn't the eight teams [South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, West Indies and England] I have reviewed above. The last couple of CWCs have had a surprise or two make it to the second stage, but both the 2003 CWC in Africa and the 1999 CWC in the sub-continent were, for various reasons, affected by forfeits which gave some of the lesser teams free points, and deprived some of the established teams easy wins. Barring some major incident in the Caribbean, that won't be the case this year.
If I was going to pick an upset for the Super 8, I would have suggested that Pakistan would be the most vulnerable. With the way the groups have been drawn, though, the only way that Pakistan won't make the second stage would be if they lose to either Zimbabwe or Ireland, which I don't see happening. Possibly the only real chance for an upset is in Group ‘B', with Sri Lanka, India and the fast improving Bangladesh all fighting it out. Sri Lanka have a strong side, and India generally play well when they are the on-field bullies, so this is equally unlikely.
Well, I didn't pick the upsets, but I'll take consolation in the fact that I did predict that if there was going to be an upset, that Pakistan might be vulnerable, and that Bangladesh was the most likely to cause a boilover. Now, as I generally suck at predictions, I'm going to draw a long bow and call this somewhat a success. Shoot me.
I also predicted that South Africa would qualify ahead of Australia, which I definitely got wrong. Frankly, I thought that it would take Australia a bit longer to hit their stride in this tourney, but they are firing for various reasons, Brad Hogg's performances being right near the top of that list. Hogg has been bowling extremely well, taking three wickets against the South Africans and continuing his knack of deceiving pretty much everyone with his googly.
I have been saying it for a while, but he is a top class ODI spinner. Hopefully, his performances in this CWC, coupled with his career record and his haul in the last CWC, will finally get him the recognition that he deserves from not only the cricketing public, but also his captain and selectors.
All The News That Matters
South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs became the first player in international history to hit the maximum 36 runs from a six-ball over, against the Netherlands' leg-spinner Daan van Bunge (GREAT name). While it rightly won't carry as much weight as it would have if the bowler was of an international standard, he still did something that hasn't been achieved in over a century of international cricket. It was a great over to watch.
After the debacle against the Irish, Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq has resigned the captaincy of his country, and retired from One-Day International cricket. He will still be available for selection in test cricket (which, in my opinion, is a mistake), but the ODI career that blew up with his heroics in the 1992 CWC has come to an end.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been stripped of the vice-captaincy, following an embarrassing incident in the Caribbean. Flintoff had to be rescued after capsizing his pedal-boat while completely shit-faced after England's loss to New Zealand. Flintoff, who had been warned several times during the recent Ashes tour about his partying, will not be considered for the captaincy should Michael Vaughn be injured. Personally, if you are going to get demoted, it should be due to a story as funny as this.
Jamaican Police have announced that the will be investigating the Pakistan vs. Ireland game, believing it to have been thrown. Linked to the investigation into the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields believes that the game and the murder MAY be linked. I think that the esteemed Deputy Commissioner MAY have stated the obvious.
After India's loss to Bangladesh earlier in the tournament, retarded Indian fans destroyed the home of Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The house, which was in the process of being built and therefore unoccupied, was the target of one of many mobs that took to the streets around India in protest of their team's defeat. The riotous behaviour was repeated after the Indians' subsequent loss to Sri Lanka, ending their hopes of advancement in the tournament.
On the subject of India's failure in the tournament, team coach Greg Chappell has admitted that he fears for his life in the wake of the Woolmer tragedy. The Australian-born Chappell, who is unpopular in India after he engineered the sacking of former skipper Sourav Ganguly, has asked for and received police protection in the Caribbean.
New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan McCullam hit the record books with the fastest half-century in World Cup history. He massacred the Canadians to the tune of 50 in just 20 balls, guiding his team to a score of 5/363.
Zimbabwe's players were faced with an unusual requirement for selection in the CWC squad- they had to have approved haircuts. Specifically, players with dreadlocks were instructed by Zimbabwean cricket chiefs to shave their heads, or miss the tour. The strange edict affected three players, and was especially curious, as the tour was to the region where dreadlocks are probably most popular- the Caribbean. Perhaps ZC haven't heard of Bob Marley?
Australia's Matthew Hayden broke Canada's Jon Davison's World Cup record for the fastest century with his blazing ton against South Africa. Hayden, who three months ago was only an outside chance to actually make the tour, managed to do what very few have, by outshining Adam Gilchrist in a century opening partnership on the way to a personal tally of 100 in just 56 balls. As opposed to McCullum's and Gibbs' record, it should be noted that Hayden achieved the record against the best team in the world, rather than a team of amateurs. Lends a bit more credibility to the record, wouldn't you agree?
And The Tournament Rolls On
The CWC now moves into the Super 8 stage. The eight remaining teams will all play every other remaining side except for the side that it faced during the first round. The points table will reset, with only the points scored in the first round against the other qualifying team carrying into the next stage.
So, at the start of the Super 8, the points table is as follows:
Sri Lanka- 2 points
West Indies- 2 points
New Zealand- 2 points
Australia- 2 points
South Africa- 0 points
England- 0 points
Bangladesh- 0 points
Ireland- 0 points
With all teams to play six more games, the points that get carried over may turn out to be crucial, giving those teams a sizeable advantage.
Before the tournament, I picked Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to move through the second stage to the semi-finals, and I don't see anything in the past fortnight's results that would make me change those predictions. If anything, the fact that the four teams that I have selected have all qualified at the top of their groups further validates my predictions.
I still think that South Africa are vulnerable against some of the other top teams (and not taking the points from the group stage into the Super 8 essentially puts them a game behind before they start), and I still think that England is a genuine class below the top four. Bangladesh will be a dangerous sleeper, and Ireland will struggle to win another game- which, to be fair, is no insult to them at all. They have substantially overachieved, and without the Woolmer incident, they would have been THE story of this CWC.
Well, thanks to the third cyclone to hit my area in the past three weeks, I have to go and batten down the hatches. Until next time, enjoy the cricket…
