The World Cup has come and gone. It has lived up to the expectations of one and all and given the final result has also left the largest fan base absolutely elated. The euphoria of India's victory refuses to die down. The Indian fans world over have finally got the one moment that they had been waiting for to let go of their miserly kept victory hurrah. More than anybody else, it is these common people who feel vindicated in their faith. Hardly any other team in any other form of sport has more than 18% of world population rooting for it. As the party comes to a more sober level and as the surreality turns to quiet realization, there is a perceivable shift in the confidence level of the average Indian supporter. May be, when India travels to the West Indies and England later this year, the fans would be more surprised if this team does not post outright victories in the test matches than pray for life saving series draws. Anyway, those are things of the future. For the time being, let's concentrate on the recent events.
The World Cup final has been discussed, dissected and eulogized at length. And it has not stopped yet. The most unusual thing about this tournament is the fact that the expected has happened. The most fancied team has come out victorious, the fall of the mighty Australians has come through, playing in the subcontinent the subcontinental teams have maximized their home advantage and South Africa for reasons that even God cannot explain have made an earlier than expected exit. Some spectacular players have also emerged. Among the associate member teams, Ireland and Netherlands have sprung two potential stars; Kevin O'Brien from the former and Ryan ten Doeschates from the later. While O'Brien has captivated all with that brutal innings against England, ten Doeschates has stamped his authority by posting two hundred plus knocks and claiming a handful of wickets. The regular suspects from the bigger teams have not disappointed. Jonathan Trott carried his spectacular form from down under and gave one of the most consistent performance. South Africa had the good service of AB de Villiers and co. Australia visibly missed a quality spinner with neither Jason Krejza nor Steven Smith coming close to threaten anyone. Inspite of that, their pace attack and a durable batting line up managed to carry them through to the quarter finals.
New Zealand showed a lot of heart and courage. The four over turn around against Pakistan courtesy the murderous Ross Taylor would have remained the prime highlight but for their spirited performance against South Africa in the quarter final. They keep performing beyond expectation so often that it is time the expectations are pushed up. May be, what they lack is a talisman, a player who can inspire and create awe.
By far, the major most surprise in the tournament have been Pakistan. Here was a team shredded to the core by match fixing, ego wrestling and what not. Yet, they reached the semi-finals. Afridi, though mediocre with the bat, more than compensated with his bowling. He ended up the joint highest wicket taker of the tournament. Batting did let them down on a few occasions but Umar Akmal has come out as a rare find. He has shown intent and aggression and is screaming through his performance to be pushed up the order. The other Akmal though has made a case strong enough to be axed.
In the list of disappointers, West Indies are the prime candidate for the number one slot. Here is a team with a history that is rapt with the best of the best in all crafts of the game. Yet you look at the present crop and wonder if it is a case of lack of talent or a lack of interest. The two game changers in their side are capable of bringing victory even as the devil conspires against them. But so often do they end up partying with the devil himself that it leaves the spectators bemused with the question, "what just happened"? Chris Gayle has the power of a Virender Sehwag and the shot repertoire of a Brian Lara. But he also has the attention span of a toddler. He makes an over going 4-6-4-0-W-0 extremely likely. The maladies of Keiron Pollard are a mystery for Sherlock Holmes. This lad either wants a century or nothing at all. An extreme case of zero-mania probably. The bowling looks toothless with the exception of Kemar Roach. It was sad and comical at the same time to see a West Indian side opening bowling with a spinner! Where have the greats gone?
Equally, if not more so, disappointing have been Bangladesh. In the opening game, they put up a very promising batting display. But as it turned out, they flattered only to deceive. Bangladesh have been playing Test cricket for almost a decade now. They have also hosted a World Cup. It is time they started looking seriously at the quality of their players and taking remedial measures immediately. A good idea would be to expose the provincial cricketers to domestic leagues of other countries. And by other countries, it doesn't mean just the English counties. In fact, the associate nations too should be encouraged and helped to send their players to the national level competitions of the member nations until they develop a full fledged structure of their own. If Cricket is to gain popularity, this should be the way.
While this was not meant to be an exhaustive review of the World Cup, the article has covered the more prominent aspects just the same. However, one little incident that has quietly slipped below the radar is the confusion over the toss in the all important finals. Most of us who watched the match were baffled by Sangakkara's response. The Indian captain had the coin, Ravi Shastri had the mike, Jeff Crowe stood as the officiator. Dhoni tossed the coin, Sanga called and the call got lost in the din of the crowd. But when the coin was on the ground, didn't Sanga know what he had called? He of all people definitely knew what the call was and going by his immediate body language, perhaps he had lost it. Shouldn't he have done what is expected of an international cricketer of his stature? Well, he didn't and perhaps for the worse. Sangakkara is considered among the most erudite and immaculate cricketers of this era. But incidents like this raise the question, does he respect the first code of the game he plays? Being a gentleman. Going by the Suraj Randiv - Sehwag incident and this fuss over the toss, it seems like the great Sanga is going the Punter way.
The World Cup final has been discussed, dissected and eulogized at length. And it has not stopped yet. The most unusual thing about this tournament is the fact that the expected has happened. The most fancied team has come out victorious, the fall of the mighty Australians has come through, playing in the subcontinent the subcontinental teams have maximized their home advantage and South Africa for reasons that even God cannot explain have made an earlier than expected exit. Some spectacular players have also emerged. Among the associate member teams, Ireland and Netherlands have sprung two potential stars; Kevin O'Brien from the former and Ryan ten Doeschates from the later. While O'Brien has captivated all with that brutal innings against England, ten Doeschates has stamped his authority by posting two hundred plus knocks and claiming a handful of wickets. The regular suspects from the bigger teams have not disappointed. Jonathan Trott carried his spectacular form from down under and gave one of the most consistent performance. South Africa had the good service of AB de Villiers and co. Australia visibly missed a quality spinner with neither Jason Krejza nor Steven Smith coming close to threaten anyone. Inspite of that, their pace attack and a durable batting line up managed to carry them through to the quarter finals.
New Zealand showed a lot of heart and courage. The four over turn around against Pakistan courtesy the murderous Ross Taylor would have remained the prime highlight but for their spirited performance against South Africa in the quarter final. They keep performing beyond expectation so often that it is time the expectations are pushed up. May be, what they lack is a talisman, a player who can inspire and create awe.
By far, the major most surprise in the tournament have been Pakistan. Here was a team shredded to the core by match fixing, ego wrestling and what not. Yet, they reached the semi-finals. Afridi, though mediocre with the bat, more than compensated with his bowling. He ended up the joint highest wicket taker of the tournament. Batting did let them down on a few occasions but Umar Akmal has come out as a rare find. He has shown intent and aggression and is screaming through his performance to be pushed up the order. The other Akmal though has made a case strong enough to be axed.
In the list of disappointers, West Indies are the prime candidate for the number one slot. Here is a team with a history that is rapt with the best of the best in all crafts of the game. Yet you look at the present crop and wonder if it is a case of lack of talent or a lack of interest. The two game changers in their side are capable of bringing victory even as the devil conspires against them. But so often do they end up partying with the devil himself that it leaves the spectators bemused with the question, "what just happened"? Chris Gayle has the power of a Virender Sehwag and the shot repertoire of a Brian Lara. But he also has the attention span of a toddler. He makes an over going 4-6-4-0-W-0 extremely likely. The maladies of Keiron Pollard are a mystery for Sherlock Holmes. This lad either wants a century or nothing at all. An extreme case of zero-mania probably. The bowling looks toothless with the exception of Kemar Roach. It was sad and comical at the same time to see a West Indian side opening bowling with a spinner! Where have the greats gone?
Equally, if not more so, disappointing have been Bangladesh. In the opening game, they put up a very promising batting display. But as it turned out, they flattered only to deceive. Bangladesh have been playing Test cricket for almost a decade now. They have also hosted a World Cup. It is time they started looking seriously at the quality of their players and taking remedial measures immediately. A good idea would be to expose the provincial cricketers to domestic leagues of other countries. And by other countries, it doesn't mean just the English counties. In fact, the associate nations too should be encouraged and helped to send their players to the national level competitions of the member nations until they develop a full fledged structure of their own. If Cricket is to gain popularity, this should be the way.
While this was not meant to be an exhaustive review of the World Cup, the article has covered the more prominent aspects just the same. However, one little incident that has quietly slipped below the radar is the confusion over the toss in the all important finals. Most of us who watched the match were baffled by Sangakkara's response. The Indian captain had the coin, Ravi Shastri had the mike, Jeff Crowe stood as the officiator. Dhoni tossed the coin, Sanga called and the call got lost in the din of the crowd. But when the coin was on the ground, didn't Sanga know what he had called? He of all people definitely knew what the call was and going by his immediate body language, perhaps he had lost it. Shouldn't he have done what is expected of an international cricketer of his stature? Well, he didn't and perhaps for the worse. Sangakkara is considered among the most erudite and immaculate cricketers of this era. But incidents like this raise the question, does he respect the first code of the game he plays? Being a gentleman. Going by the Suraj Randiv - Sehwag incident and this fuss over the toss, it seems like the great Sanga is going the Punter way.
Anyway, the World Cup has given us a lot to enjoy, cherish and treasure. Hopefully, the future Cricket actions will be equally engrossing. The gears now shift towards the IPL. We shall see, how the World Cup weary stars and the fresh legged squad miss outs would perform at this stage. The Cricketist will continue with its contrarian (not always!!) views and bring to you its own style of analysis. Keep reading.
Au Revoir...
Au Revoir...
nice arti sirji....gud dat u strd penning ur thoughts...
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