As most followers will be aware, the grand old game of cricket had its origins in England. I played the game myself for a number of teams at a progressively deteriorating level for over twenty years. At this time, the international game was a much simpler affair than it is today. There were only four “premium” teams: England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa. Five, five-day Test matches were scheduled between them on a rotating basis. Of these, the “Ashes” series between England and Australia was the blue riband event. However, in addition to the above, somewhat patronizingly New Zealand was also granted their own Test series but with a total population somewhat less than that of a medium sized city, little was expected of them. Finally India, like the premium teams above, had a colonial history which the custodians of cricketing tradition and folklore conceded was sufficient to give them a crack at the big time. However, (-against England at any rate) the Test series were limited to three matches instead of the normal five, presumably to limit the degree of humiliation which India were expected to suffer. Pakistan had only recently achieved partition from India and Sri Lanka (previously Ceylon), like Pakistan and Bangladesh (previously East Pakistan) were fully occupied with providing the bare essentials of life and were not in the international cricketing firmament at all.
Then came the phenomenon of the limited overs game. This, if nothing else, ensured that a complete game could be enjoyed in one day rather than the traditional five allocated to Test Matches. Not surprisingly this new excitement gave the game an enormous boost both in spectator turn out and in attracting a youthful following. This ultimately resulted in the introduction of the “One Day International” (ODI).Many more countries threw their cricket caps onto the pitch, including some as unlikely as Ireland. Ultimately, this led to the establishment of a World Cricket Cup Tournament, similar in format to the World Cup of Soccer and like it, to be held every four years. Each team would be limited to 300 balls (50 overs of 6 balls each over) in which to amass their score. The opposing team would then attempt to better this total, run out of balls -or lose all their wickets.
Fast forward to February 2011 and the start of the latest World Cup Tournament, held this year in India. The results have been most illuminating. To say that the four erstwhile cricketing superpowers fared badly would be a gross understatement. None advanced beyond the quarterfinals. Indeed England was fortunate to make it this far with losses against Ireland (-the shame!) and Bangladesh (-who?) on the way! Finally they were put out of their misery; crushed by Sri Lanka, who surpassed the England total of 231 without losing even one wicket. West Indies suffered a similar fate being thrashed by Pakistan who passed their pathetic score of 111 without loss. South Africa went out at the hands of New Zealand and Australia (the existing World Cup holder) was dispatched by India. Can you see the pattern?
The semi-finals boiled down to four teams once considered as rabbits by the cricketing intelligentsia -including for the first time, three from the Indian sub-continent. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka - plus New Zealand.
The riveting semi-finals eliminated Pakistan and New Zealand leaving India and tiny Sri Lanka to do battle for the trophy; Sri Lanka having only 6.5% of India’s population base from whom to draw their team.
April 2nd 2011. What a steely nerve game! After a classic final, India’s captain delivered the coup de gras with a huge six into the stands with just 10 balls to spare. Superb tournament - cricket played with great skill, athleticism and spirit, -congratulations to all! No doubt that India and Sri Lanka were the class of the field with Pakistan not far behind.
After a period of mourning and wound licking, hopefully the “big four” will take stock of their predicament and then consider what the heck they have to do to become competitive again.
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