It’s just not cricket

Sports Editor Dave Menon on why the Cricket World Cup was a shambles

In case you didn’t already know, the Cricket World Cup has finally come to an end. And those Aussies won again – what a surprise. But I’m not writing this to complain about the cricket. Quite frankly, the tournament was a complete sham.

Where do I begin? The competition format needs to be reviewed, the atmosphere was sterile, ticket prices were too expensive, the final was almost played in darkness, and needless to mention – England were dire.

Yet despite all these shortfalls, the World Cup was marred by the tragic death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. Sadly, in what was supposed to be a carnival of great cricket, the dark side of the sport reared its head.

Although the cause of Woolmer’s death remains unknown, the speculation of match-fixing being linked to the tragedy is disturbing. If Woolmer was indeed murdered for reasons relating to cricket, the reputation of the ‘gentleman’s game’ will be tarnished forever.

Nonetheless, putting that tragedy aside, the rest of the tournament was hardly an advert for cricket either. Firstly, the format of the competition urgently needs to be reviewed. No prestigious sporting event should be 49 days long, because public interest is likely to wane halfway through proceedings.

The Super Eight stage was largely unsuccessful, because each team were required to play too many games, which caused the tournament to drag on. And disappointingly, some of these matches were meaningless.

Perhaps the ICC should work on an itinerary, which bears some resemblance to the successful Football World Cup. What’s wrong with having four groups of four teams, with the top two from each pool qualifying for a knock-out stage? Surely that would increase excitement and intrigue.

Secondly, the Cricket World Cup lacked the typical Caribbean atmosphere. The ICC enforced too many strict rules, which discouraged loyal West Indies supporters from attending matches. For example, local fans weren’t allowed to take conch shells into matches, which provide the soundtrack to Caribbean cricket.

Moreover, despite the intensely hot weather conditions, many fans weren’t even allowed to take bottles of water into grounds. Apparently, they’re a security hazard. Or perhaps the ICC wants to line their pockets by forcing thirsty fans to buy water.

That leads me onto expensive ticket prices. You have to consider that many fans travelled across the world to see their team play cricket. Flights and accommodation costs are dear enough these days, so why increase admission prices? Not all cricket fans have the bank balance of Richard Branson.

And lastly, the final was nothing more than a joke. Players shouldn’t be expected to play in complete and utter darkness. An extra day should have been used to ensure both teams had the allotted 50 overs in which to bat. This would have provided a fairer result.

So there you have it. But on a positive note, at least there’s another four years until the next Cricket World Cup.

Hopefully that will be enough time for the ICC to put their thinking caps on and organise a decent tournament.