411mania's 2007 Cricket World Cup Coverage- Cup Final Review and Tournament Wrap Up
Posted by Andy Bracken on 05.01.2007
Gilly's massacre, as well as a look at the highs and lows of the Cricket World Cup.
411mania's Cricket World Cup Coverage- World Cup Final Review and Tournament Wrap Up
Well, it's over.
On the weekend, Australia became the first team to win three consecutive World Cups in a rain-shortened match in the usually idyllic Bridgetown, Barbados. The hero for the Australians was the dominating Adam Gilchrist, who bludgeoned 149 off just 104 balls, to take away any chance of Sri Lanka causing an upset.
(Incidentally, since the final, I have been enjoying the effects of morphine shots due to whatever the hell is wrong with me at the moment. Don't worry- they were legitimately prescribed, but that doesn't make the effects any less enjoyable. Hence the delay in writing and posting this report, and the slightly sketchy nature of it. But, the thing needs to go up, so needs must and all that.)
Unfortunately, the victory was somewhat tainted by probably the most farcical displays of officialdom gone mad that world cricket has ever seen. After Sri Lanka gave up the ghost and accepted bad light in the 25th over, conceding defeat and correctly expecting that Australia would be declared the winner under the Duckworth/Lewis System, umpires Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor informed the Australians that they actually hadn't yet won the match, and that if the light didn't improve the players would have to return the next day to complete three meaningless overs.
Now, I have no issues with umpires following the rules to the letter. Unfortunately, they got the rules wrong- something that everyone except the umpiring team, it seemed, was aware of. As both teams had batted 20 overs, the match was live, and was to be completed. The reserve day wasn't an option.
To his great credit, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene called his players out to finish the unnecessary overs and end the situation. He showed, once again, that he is a class human being, unlike certain former Sri Lankan captains you could mention.
Apparently, the main culprit in the umpires' rooms was third umpire Rudi Koertzen. He insisted that the match continue, and neither the two field umpires nor match referee Jeff Crowe had the confidence to overrule him.
You know what is most troubling about this? It would seem that the Playing Control team appointed to officiate the biggest match- Umpires Bucknor and Dar, third umpire Koertzen, reserve umpire Billy Bowden, and match referee Crowe, don't understand the rules of the game enough to ensure that the game is finished correctly. That is a huge indictment on the evidently incompetent ICC.
I am curious to see what happens over this. A few months ago, Darryl Hair was summarily turfed from the elite panel because he enforced the laws of the game to the letter, supposedly bringing the game into disrepute. Of course, Hair was a marked man on the sub-continent, and this was the reason that certain quarters had been looking for.
Now, Hair was lynched because he followed the rules, but supposedly didn't exercise common sense in enforcing those rules. The umpires in yesterdays games actually enforced a rule that didn't exist with no flexibility or common sense, and in doing so brought scorn upon the showcase match of the cricket world. Frankly, whether or not umpires get fired over this (particularly Koertzen and Crowe, if reports are true) will be a real indicator of whether or not Hair was screwed or not. Of course, I know what I expect t happen, and I doubt that it will even come close to Hair's treatment.
As a dyed-in-the-wool realist, I know that the way this tournament has lurched from one debacle to another will somewhat overshadow the way that Australia has dominated, which is a outright shame. The have been simply awesome, not only matching their 2003 effort by winning he tournament undefeated, but actually increasing their sheer invincibility by winning every match in a canter. Not one team came close to defeating the Australians, a fact that can be demonstrated in a few statistics:
-When batting first for 50 overs, Australia never failed to score 300.
-Australia lost no more than six wickets in any innings.
-Australia's four frontline bowlers were all in the top nine bowling in the tournament.
-Australia had four batsmen in the top ten for runs scored in the tournament, and all four of those batsmen had a strike rate of 95 or more
-Australia's bowlers were three of the top four, and four of the top six wicket takers in the tournament, and all four averaged 20 or less. Three of those four averaged 16 or less.
-Only nine Australian batsmen actually faced a ball during the tournament.
I could write pages on how well the Australians played, but there isn't a thing I could say that could illustrate their brilliance as well as those few stats. They truly speak volumes.
I will spend a few moments on the Sri Lankan team. They were beaten convincingly, but they gave it an almighty roost when the came out to bat, and when Jayasuriya and Sangakkara were in full flight it looked like they were going to go close. Even more prominent was the way in which they carried themselves, not just in the finals, but throughout the tournament. They have a real claim to the mantle of second best ODI side in the world, and they play with a very admirable sense of sportsmanship that goes from the captain down. Jayawardene has a team to be proud of.
Tournament Wrap up
Sadly, this is a tournament that will be remembered for the wrong reasons. It was a shambles from before the first ball was bowled, and fell from crisis to calamity until the very last ball. That said, here are the ten hits and misses from the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The Hits
Lets start with the positive, huh?
1. Herschelle Gibbs' Day Out
With the increased number of minnows in this tournament, as well as the favourable conditions and the recent trend of higher ODI scores, there was a lot of speculation that this could be the time that an individual finally blasts 200 in an innings. That didn't happen, but another long imagined feat did.
It has been accomplished twice in domestic competition, but no one had ever hit six sixes from an over in international cricket. That is until an unfortunate Dutchman by the name of Daan van Bunge took the ball to bowl to South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs. After hitting the first three over the fence, Herschelle clearly decided to have a crack at it, and proceeded to paste the next three into the stands as well. To say he was delighted is something of an understatement, and the Dutch legspinner went away from the tournament knowing that he made the record books, but for a probably unappreciated reason.
2. The Old Stager Finishes With a Bang
I'll tell you this- this has been a great era to be an Australian cricket fan. Having a team that has been so dominant is one thing, but to be able to bear witness to the career of one of the greatest fast bowlers in history is a true privilege.
Unusually, Glenn McGrath came into the tournament with his form in question. He was hit around by the Kiwis in the Chappell Hadlee Trophy, and was seen as being the bowler that could be vulnerable in this Australian attack. Once again, McGrath proved why he has the record that he possesses.
In his last international series, he was the Player of the Series, taking a World Cup record 26 wickets at the stunning average of 13.73, and only going at 4.41 runs per over. Not a bad way to finish a great career.
3. Emerging Brilliance
With the retirement of McGrath, among others, there have been questions over who would be the next generation of exciting bowlers to come to the forefront. A few players staked claims for that title during this tournament.
The two new standouts were undoubtedly Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga and Australia's Shaun Tait. Both bowlers, while utterly unconventional, are both express pace with the ability to swing the ball and strike at the top of the innings. It is obviously too early to bestow any predictions of greatness, but with 23 wickets for Tait and 18 for Malinga for the Cup, they have both staked an impressive claim.
4. Spinners Delight
Before the tournament, I predicted that the class spinners would have a huge bearing on the Cup. As it unfolded, I was definitely not disappointed.
Muttiah Muralitharan and Brad Hogg both had huge tournaments. Murali was obviously no surprise, as he has been bamboozling batsmen for years, and finished with 23 wickets at 15. Hogg, who I expected to bowl well, was brilliant, taking 21 wickets at 15 a piece. More impressive was the way that he took his wickets. Here wasn't a single batsman that faced him that could pick his googly, and Hogg chose his moments to bowl them well. He even dusted off his flipper in the last two games, and while it didn't take a wicket, it beat the batsman all ends up. Being about as fit as a person could be, he could have a few more years left in him, and another World Cup campaign isn't out of the question.
Here's a fact for you- both he and Warne have played in two World Cups, with Hogg has taken more wickets at a better average. Their career stats aren't all that dissimilar, either, with Warne's ODI average only being a couple of runs lower. Hogg is top level, and hopefully more people will realise it- particularly the Australian selectors.
5. Hayden's Renaissance
In November last year, most Australians wouldn't have thought that Matt Hayden has much chance of making the squad for the World Cup. How much things change.
With Shane Watson breaking in half again, Australia turned to Hayden to open during the Australian ODI season. He was extraordinarily scratchy to begin with, and couldn't get the ball off the square. Fortunately, he wasn't even seeing them well enough to get a nick, so he managed to put together a few slow, unattractive scores. Slowly, things turned around.
He capped his return to form with a blistering 180 during the series in New Zealand, and cam into the Cup in form, albeit with a broken toe. He didn't let that bother him, though, starting the cup in imperious form, bludgeoning attacks with disdain. He was the batsman of the cup, along with Scott Styris, and finished with a record 659 runs at an average of 73, with a strike rate over 100. He has never batted better in ODIs, and he could be on the cusp of another world beating run of form.
And (The Worst of) The Misses
1. Murder on the Fifth Floor
As sad as it is, this World Cup isn't going to be remembered for the winners or the records. This World Cup will forever be recalled as the one where some people just went too far.
The murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer will be the enduring memory. Killed in his hotel room after Pakistan's demise, his death brought to the surface a fact that cricket authorities have tried to gloss over since the Indian takeover- that being that sub continental fans take the game just WAY too seriously. Burning effigies, angry mobs destroying players' house and death threats didn't magically materialise during this tournament, they have been a part of cricketing life in those countries for a while and nothing has been done about it.
Other sports have systems in place to penalise poor fan behaviour. Maybe it's time that the I$C* start looking at it.
2. When Making Dollars Doesn't Make Sense
Fact: Almost all of the Caribbean nations are decidedly third world.
Fact: People who live in third world countries don't make much money.
Fact: People without much money generally prioritise paying for food an shelter above paying a quarter of their monthly income on a ticket to a cricket match.
Seems pretty simple, huh? Unfortunately, the I$C and the local organising committees all had dollars in their eyes and put the ticket prices out of the reach of those who they were holding the event for. They coupled this with entry restrictions that basically took away any semblance of "Caribbean Flavour", and made the event sterile, dull and second rate. Considering that this would be the only chance the I$C would have to hold their premier event in a similar time zone to their cherished US market, they gave basically the worst possible advertisement for a game that needs new regional markets to expand.
Strangely enough, the I$C could have gave every ticket away for free, compensated the local cricket authorities for the loss of revenue and STILL made a hundreds-of-million-of-dollars windfall from TV rights alone. I doubt the networks will be coughing up as much next time, though.
(*Credit Richard.)
3. Extreme Predictability
I had a look over the results, and from the 51 matches played in the world cup , only six of those matches were either close or a real upset. Out of those, one of them was a draw between two minnows, one of them was one-sided until a bowler took four wickets in four balls near the end of the chase to make the margin much smaller, one was a genuinely good match, and two involved test sides capitulating against minnows. Six weeks and 51 matches, and just six competitive results. The rest were one sided drubbings.
That tells me two things- that the tournament was far too long for the talent available, and that the standard of world cricket is in real trouble. Both of these factors need to be addressed by the powers that be, or the recent surge in cricket's wealth will be short lived. That the most prestigious championship in world cricket could drag on so painfully and be such a poor spectator event is an indictment on those that organised and ran it.
4. Unfinished Facilities
Giving the World Cup to the West Indies was always going to be a risky proposition. The venues were substandard, the infrastructure was non-existent, and the culture demanded that nothing would be finished until the last minute in a best case scenario.
Unfortunately, the best case wasn't THE case. One stadium wasn't finished in time, and had to be withdrawn, and two others were signed off just hours before they were due to hold their first match, with the inevitable problems occurring with untested stadiums.
Seeing a match being played on a ground that had sand making up huge parts of the outfield was, frankly, an embarrassing experience for cricket. If the I$C ever put such a tournament in an undeveloped part of the world again, there has to be measures put in place to ensure that the facilities are completed and tested well ahead of time. The game deserves no less.
5. Finishing With A Bang
Well, I suppose it was apt that a tournament that was planned and run so poorly should finish in such a mess. I'm not going to rehash the events of the final, but there is a point to be made from it.
I find it ridiculous that the man that is universally regarded as the best, most knowledgeably umpire in the world should be sitting in the sands during the most high-profile match in the game. Simon Taufel was precluded from being involved with the final for the simple reason that he hails from the same country as one of the participants, which is not allowed under the I$C neutral umpire policy.
Back in the 1980s, there was a good reason for neutral umpires, thanks to some dodgy Pakistanis. Things are quite a lot different today, though. Since the advent of the Elite Umpires Panel, the I$C has identified and selected the best umpires in the world today. If a guy is a honourable enough official to make that panel, then he should be able to be trusted to be impartial, regardless of the teams involved.
Would Taufel have detected the mistake and made the right call? No idea, but I would wager yes. Regardless, the climax of the world cup deserves the best people to be on the field, players and umpires.
And We're Done
Well, the 207 World Cup has come and gone, and the result has been he same as the last two. Australia are a couple of steps ahead of the chasing pack, and they thoroughly deserved their triumph.
As a cricket fan, I certainly don't enjoy writing so negatively about the game that captivates me, but this tournament has really been sub-standard. Hopefully, some of the ills inside the body that runs the game have been exposed to the point that something will have to change. Here's hoping that the I$C gets it's act into gear, and the next Cup in the sub-continent will be something of a redemption.
