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Taken from a British newspaper.
DARK DAYS FOR CRICKET (LITTERALLY)
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 30/04/2007
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What a shambles.
On Saturday night the 2007 Cricket World Cup reached its grand finale. Despite the valiant efforts of Australia and Sri Lanka on the pitch, the tournament ended in darkness and chaos.
It was a fitting close to 47 days of mismatches, empty stadia, unabashed moneymaking and the death of Bob Woolmer, which may yet bring the whole game into disrepute. Ireland may have given the contest an unexpected fillip, but England did little to distinguish themselves. Following a battalion of lacklustre performances, a pedalo incident marked the watery grave for pride in the team.
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While there are elements of the World Cup that we have come to expect - Australia this year carry home their third consecutive win, England leave empty-handed - there are others we must no longer tolerate. It is time the ICC's panjandrums stopped obsessing about money and started thinking about the spirit of the game.
If they don't, the future of first-class cricket is certain to be as gloomy as the close of this year's competition.
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In the end there was about only one level on which the World Cup succeeded: if it was supposed to be a means of determining the best side in the world, then it most emphatically did so. Otherwise it was far too long and sold far too few tickets, as well as throwing in a silly ending reminiscent of the 2005 Ashes. As that was a great series most soon forgot the manner of the finish; this was very far from a great World Cup so I suspect there will be a bit more squabbling this time.
There were three problems with the cricket. Australia were too good. India and Pakistan were too bad. And the sub-Australia league produced surprisingly few interesting games. The organisers can't be blamed for any of that, but it did result in a very dull tournament indeed, easily the least interesting World Cup todate. It was all far too predictable.
That said, two of the very few good matches involved Ireland, who then did themselves proud with a bravura performance against Bangladesh. For me, and I suspect many others, Ireland were the high spot. Now who could have predicted that?
Posted by political umpire on April 30, 2007 2:41 PM
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The cricket world cup was too long, the prices were too high for local people, there was not propper security and that's why they still don't know who killed Bob Wolmer, The minor teams were full of players from different countries rather than players from their own countries, and they allowed such teams into the tournament. That's why I thought the tournament was dull. There is far too much international cricket anyway, and domestically they tamper with the game too much. They should abolish the County Championship because it's boring, have decent one day competitions like a twenty20 league and 50 over league, play-offs at the end of the season, and 4 test series a year, each consisting of 3 tests. That'll make cricket far more exciting.
Posted by Senior on April 30, 2007 2:35 PM
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Agree in total with the thread of your argument. The problem is the trans-national elite (in their eyes) currently running the game, not only Australians. The MCC wasn't perfect in the past but it was way ahead of the lawyers and their friends currently running things.
Posted by Derek W Buxton on April 30, 2007 11:32 AM
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Perhaps we should be given the fiscals for the World Cup - this entire manufactured event was about Mammon - not national pride, nor did it represent many of the teams at their best.
The CWC diminished the game, appears to have included a murder, and showed our own team up as a bunch of MBE'd louts. It should be scrapped.
Posted by simon coulter on April 30, 2007 10:37 AM
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The world cup was far too long!
A short sharp 3-week festival of cricket should have been far preferable.
Posted by John Ferguson on April 30, 2007 9:32 AM
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I'm not a fan of one-day cricket - unless played in the local leagues, and I have to confess that I hadn't realised that the final had been played. I do, however, fully agree that the rulers of the modern game are fatally obsessed with money.
Surely it is time that the ICC was replaced by a genuinely independent body which will not cave in to any country or interest group, no matter who they might be.
Posted by David Conyers on April 30, 2007 8:31 AM
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Cricket authorities are those responsible for the shambles in the game, simply because they were prepared to sell. Advertising revenues dominate everything associated with "The Dirty Digger". All entwined through "investment" in his affairs must comply in maximising profits above everything else. Cricket is following the same course and cannot succeed until it rids itself of the Australian yoke.
Posted by Peter Hughes on April 30, 2007 8:01 AM
Report this comment
DARK DAYS FOR CRICKET (LITTERALLY)
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 30/04/2007
Have your say Read comments
What a shambles.
On Saturday night the 2007 Cricket World Cup reached its grand finale. Despite the valiant efforts of Australia and Sri Lanka on the pitch, the tournament ended in darkness and chaos.
It was a fitting close to 47 days of mismatches, empty stadia, unabashed moneymaking and the death of Bob Woolmer, which may yet bring the whole game into disrepute. Ireland may have given the contest an unexpected fillip, but England did little to distinguish themselves. Following a battalion of lacklustre performances, a pedalo incident marked the watery grave for pride in the team.
advertisement
While there are elements of the World Cup that we have come to expect - Australia this year carry home their third consecutive win, England leave empty-handed - there are others we must no longer tolerate. It is time the ICC's panjandrums stopped obsessing about money and started thinking about the spirit of the game.
If they don't, the future of first-class cricket is certain to be as gloomy as the close of this year's competition.
Have your say
Print this page as text only
Email this story
Post this story to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Comments
In the end there was about only one level on which the World Cup succeeded: if it was supposed to be a means of determining the best side in the world, then it most emphatically did so. Otherwise it was far too long and sold far too few tickets, as well as throwing in a silly ending reminiscent of the 2005 Ashes. As that was a great series most soon forgot the manner of the finish; this was very far from a great World Cup so I suspect there will be a bit more squabbling this time.
There were three problems with the cricket. Australia were too good. India and Pakistan were too bad. And the sub-Australia league produced surprisingly few interesting games. The organisers can't be blamed for any of that, but it did result in a very dull tournament indeed, easily the least interesting World Cup todate. It was all far too predictable.
That said, two of the very few good matches involved Ireland, who then did themselves proud with a bravura performance against Bangladesh. For me, and I suspect many others, Ireland were the high spot. Now who could have predicted that?
Posted by political umpire on April 30, 2007 2:41 PM
Report this comment
The cricket world cup was too long, the prices were too high for local people, there was not propper security and that's why they still don't know who killed Bob Wolmer, The minor teams were full of players from different countries rather than players from their own countries, and they allowed such teams into the tournament. That's why I thought the tournament was dull. There is far too much international cricket anyway, and domestically they tamper with the game too much. They should abolish the County Championship because it's boring, have decent one day competitions like a twenty20 league and 50 over league, play-offs at the end of the season, and 4 test series a year, each consisting of 3 tests. That'll make cricket far more exciting.
Posted by Senior on April 30, 2007 2:35 PM
Report this comment
Agree in total with the thread of your argument. The problem is the trans-national elite (in their eyes) currently running the game, not only Australians. The MCC wasn't perfect in the past but it was way ahead of the lawyers and their friends currently running things.
Posted by Derek W Buxton on April 30, 2007 11:32 AM
Report this comment
Perhaps we should be given the fiscals for the World Cup - this entire manufactured event was about Mammon - not national pride, nor did it represent many of the teams at their best.
The CWC diminished the game, appears to have included a murder, and showed our own team up as a bunch of MBE'd louts. It should be scrapped.
Posted by simon coulter on April 30, 2007 10:37 AM
Report this comment
The world cup was far too long!
A short sharp 3-week festival of cricket should have been far preferable.
Posted by John Ferguson on April 30, 2007 9:32 AM
Report this comment
I'm not a fan of one-day cricket - unless played in the local leagues, and I have to confess that I hadn't realised that the final had been played. I do, however, fully agree that the rulers of the modern game are fatally obsessed with money.
Surely it is time that the ICC was replaced by a genuinely independent body which will not cave in to any country or interest group, no matter who they might be.
Posted by David Conyers on April 30, 2007 8:31 AM
Report this comment
Cricket authorities are those responsible for the shambles in the game, simply because they were prepared to sell. Advertising revenues dominate everything associated with "The Dirty Digger". All entwined through "investment" in his affairs must comply in maximising profits above everything else. Cricket is following the same course and cannot succeed until it rids itself of the Australian yoke.
Posted by Peter Hughes on April 30, 2007 8:01 AM
Report this comment
Comment