Top teams jostle for glory in wide open World Cup

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – After 42 matches, including  a tie, the wheat has been separated from the chaff and the  organisers are already hailing what they claim is “potentially  the greatest World Cup ever”.

Kemar Roach

There were upsets here and there and England often suffered  every time a giant-killing act was pulled off in the  sub-continent.

But as the tournament heads into the knockout phase after  more than a month of group-stage sparring, there is actually no  surprise as the top eight teams, including two of the three  co-hosts, made it to the business end of what is turning out to  be the most open World Cup since 1999.

With every quarter-finalist having lost at least once over  the past month, the International Cricket Council (ICC) believes  the event has produced enough drama and has all the potentials  to be the best World Cup on record.

“We have surely been treated to a real feast of 50-over  cricket with some outstanding games,” ICC President Sharad Pawar  said yesterday.

“Few who were in Bangalore will forget the tied match  between India and England or Ireland’s record-breaking triumph  against England while the passion shown by the home supporters  for the hosts Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka has been  spectacular.”

Pawar cited overwhelming television ratings to prove his  point.

“The television audience figures have set new records and  the India v England match was the most viewed game in ICC  Cricket World Cup history with multi-millions in India alone  tuning in,” Pawar said in a statement.

Much of the drama was in Group B where England’s amazing  inconsistency prolonged the suspense till the end before Andrew  Strauss and his men joined South Africa, India and West Indies  in the quarter-finals.

Comparatively, Group A was a dull affair with Pakistan, Sri  Lanka. Australia and New Zealand never really losing sleep over  their quarter-final prospects.

In Group B, England tied a run-feast with India, went down  sensationally to an Ireland powered by Kevin O’Brien who smashed  the fastest ever World Cup century, taking just 50 balls to  reach the 100-mark.

West Indies paceman Kemar Roach recorded the first hat-trick  of the tournament against the Netherlands, a feat Sri Lankan  pace bowler Lasith Malinga replicated just 24 hours later in a  Group A match against Kenya.

Injuries to players such as Dwayne Bravo (knee), Kevin  Pietersen (hernia) and Stuart Broad (side strain) did rob the  tournament of some sheen but their absence, by and large, has  not really been felt either by the fans or their teams.
Going into the knockout stage, there is no single  overwhelmingly favourite team unlike in the late 1970s when  Clive Lloyd’s West Indies dominated the game or the first decade  of this century when Australia were virtually invincible.

Many expected India to beat every opponent in front of their  demanding home crowd but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men look  pretty vulnerable, especially with their batting line-up’s  tendency to collapse in a heap that undid several of their  strong foundations.

South Africa seemed to have struck just the right blend of  spin and pace in their attack and their batting looks good but  the defeat by England sowed new seeds of doubt in the fans’  minds if the team has actually learnt to cope with pressure.

Australia’s aura of invincibility is a thing of the past and  their 34-match unbeaten run in the tournament dating back to  1999 was snapped by Pakistan on Saturday.

Their bowling looks too pace-heavy in the sub-continent’s  slow and turning tracks and skipper Ricky Ponting’s personal  form would be a major reason for concern.

Pakistan seemed to have shed the inconsistency they were  notorious for and have adjusted to life without pace duo of  Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who are serving bans for  corruption.

Their opening pair, however, has not clicked as a pair yet  and skipper Shahid Afridi’s bad patch with the bat showed no  signs of ending soon.

In contrast, co-hosts Sri Lanka look in good shape.

Dwayne Bravo

Their top order batsmen have been among the runs and the  bowling looks good enough to restrict or bowl out any opponents  on slow wickets.

England returned from the brink of elimination to reach the  quarter-finals but their inconsistency would not convince even  the most ardent fan that they can lift the elusive trophy.

Constant rejigging of the batting order has not helped their  cause and they are yet to settle on a pace attack that would  come good on these tracks.

New Zealand have an additional problem as regular skipper  Daniel Vettori hurt his knee and Ross Taylor had to step in as  the makeshift skipper.

West Indies, the other team in the quarter-final, are still  searching for their first win against a top flight team in 20  months and form book does not suggest they can break the jinx in  tomorrow’s quarter-final against Pakistan.

In such a cluttered field, Australia will have as much  chance of winning their fifth title as South Africa would have  of their first or the sub-continental teams of their second,  making it possibly the most open World Cup.