This World cup has been a big disappointment to me for two reasons
1) India didn’t make it past the first round
2) The overall mediocre cricket played (except for the top four teams, to an extent)
However, this World cup would still be remembered as the World cup of the minnows. Bangladesh truly arrived in the league of big teams. It will be interesting to see how they shape up from here. They can go on and become a major power like SriLanka did or fade out like Zimbabwe. The next five to ten years are going to be crucial in this regard. Another team that made it big in this World cup was Ireland. From being just part-time players on a holiday to the islands they have risen to the tenth position ahead of Zimbabwe and Kenya in the ICC table. Once again, the cricket administration here needs to develop a sound first class schedule and develop a pool of players. On the other hand, they could ensure that most of the players get good county experience in England. That should not be difficult after their recent performances.
Anyways, we are now at the business end of the tournament and truly the top four teams have made it here. My friend asked me to pick the winner of the World Cup just around the time the World cup was about to start. I told him that would be difficult but instead picked the four semifinalists – Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand. Looking back now, that prediction isn’t far off :) As for picking the winner, if I were to purely go by what by the formbook says, there is only one team which is winning this World cup – Australia. Alas, this is the World cup of the minnows and my heart wants any of the other three teams to win. New Zealand, SriLanka, South Africa in that order would be my choice for the champions. However as things stand, I hope SA defeat the Aussies and NZ defeat the Lankans. And in the final, I hope Shane Bond takes the last wicket in a tense final over and wins the cup for New Zealand :) Above everything, I just want to watch three good, nail-biting matches. Please!
All the best. May the best team (apart from the Aussies) win!
Update, May 1:
Aussies won the World cup :(. At the moment, they seem unstoppable for at least another couple of years. Anyways, well played Srilanka! India needs to learn a few lessons from them.
2 comments:
NO way NewZeland is gonna win...I am all for the South Africans..GO PROTES..GO...
tw...why are tey called the Proteans....any idea?
@Simba: Too bad newzealand lost yesterday. Anyways, now Iam routing for the Lankans. By the way, couldn't find out why they are called Proteas. Even Wiki had only the following to offer:
" 'Protea' is the official designation for a member of a sports team representing the Republic of South Africa, most commonly the South African cricket team "
Post a Comment