96 comments
A fitting way to end farcical World CupOne-day internationals by Oliver Brett - BBC Sport (U1779520) 29 April 2007   The word “farce” has been used a lot in reflections of the climax of the Cricket World Cup in Barbados on Saturday. I don't think it's Rudi's mistake. I think it's a collective mistake. Maybe Rudi might have suggested it early but that doesn't mean the two on-field umpires couldn't have overruled himJeff Crowe, Match referee Koertzen was wrong, but Dar and Bucknor meekly accepted his word, and Crowe failed to act. Meanwhile, Bowden flitted about the outfield with a box of replacement balls and a headset on. This tournament had been criticised for many things, but most of all for the opinionated bureaucracy of the ICC. The game’s ruling body had pandered to TV companies by dragging the tournament through nearly seven weeks and 51 matches. It had failed to market the event to the locals, and largely stripped it of its Caribbean identity by banning unregistered musical instruments. Now, five of its personnel – though you needed infra-red cameras to identify them – were rudely exposed at the defining denouement of this exhausting event. The collective meltdown of logic was neatly symbolic of the ICC’s generally ill-planned handling of the World Cup. There was much talk of how the ill-fated tournament desperately needed a closely-contested final to rescue some pride. But then again, an exciting contest played in good light, was the last thing it actually deserved. Cricket is a complex enough game without such ridiculous antics going on when the rain hits and the skies darken. England’s Ashes triumph in 2005 was finally celebrated after similarly unsatisfactory circumstances. Of course, 12 months later officialdom ruined a Test match between England and Pakistan at The Oval – and it was nothing to do with the weather. The infamous Darrell Hair persuaded himself that Pakistan had been cheating. The ICC found no evidence to prove Hair's case and his career came to an inglorious end. If that was one of international cricket’s lowest points, the events of Saturday 28 April showed that its recovery has, sadly, not yet started. Latest 10 commentsRead members' comments or add your own
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Iron Bottom (U1946557) posted Apr 30, 2007 jockriley
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skippybigoz (U7555549) posted Apr 30, 2007 Nice one JockRiley,
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Boshboy (U6557965) posted Apr 30, 2007 The Aussie's played an excellent tournament.
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RoopJindal (U8235595) posted Apr 30, 2007 THE WORLD CUP FINAL SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PLAYED ON SATURDAY. WE PAID TO GET LIVE BROADCAST AND DID NOT KNOW WHEN THE PLAY WILL START FOR SRI LANKA. WITH THREE HOURS OF RAIN AND SRI LANK PLAYING IN DARK, IT WAS A FARCE. ICC SHOULD HAVE POSTPONED THE MATCH TO SUNDAY.
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My_name_is_Jon (U8183064) posted Apr 30, 2007 Here's my rule of thumb for a World Cup - in any sport - it's too long if I can't remember when it actually started - this World Cup has, more than anything, just gone on for too long.
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GUCCIO (U7812600) posted Apr 30, 2007 I'm all for a cup spread out over a period of time, best of 3 semifinals and best of 5 final.
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Superlongjumperjay (U8236175) posted Apr 30, 2007 After the WC final farce and the universal agreement that it was Rudi's fault, isn't it time the ICC give Rudi "the slow left hand....?!" He was useless during the ashes in Australia and he was equally useless during the WC...
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Audierne (U7854128) posted May 1, 2007 It wasn't perfect but it was there. We had lots of cricket and the best team won! Thanks!
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maninthewhitecoat (U8239341) posted May 1, 2007 The unfortunate & sad occurences about the Cricket World Cup were the outpricing of match tickets & outlawing of musical instruments. We were promised a carnival of cricket by the organisers ! However their obscene greed & ignorance of running such an event, left them with a hell of a lot to be desired.
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quartz21 (U6708377) posted May 1, 2007 Is there any more to be said ? Let us just forget this world cup and get back to the game of cricket for all teams Comment on this article
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