The World at their Feet

After six long weeks the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup has finally come to an end. And what an end it was. An estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide watched favourites India claim a 6 wicket victory over fellow co-hosts Sri Lanka in front of a rabidly enthusiastic Mumbai crowd. It was the first time that a host nation had won the tournament, and when Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni launched Nuwan Kulasekara for a glorious straight six to seal his side’s second ever World Cup trophy absolute pandemonium broke out in the stands, and doubtless across the entire nation. Never before has a team gone into a major final with the genuine hopes of so many people on its shoulders, and India rose to the occasion with a clinical display emblematic of the majority of their performances in the tournament.

Having beaten rivals Pakistan by 29 runs in an engrossing semi-final in Mohali, India went into the final as slight favourites against a Sri Lankan side who had come off the back of a slightly more comfortable 5-wicket win against New Zealand. Following a confusing toss, during which match referee Jeff Crowe had to throw the coin twice as crowd noise had rendered the initial call inaudible, Kumar Sangakkara elected to bat first. Openers Upal Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan, usually so prolific, struggled to get any fluency in the early stages of the innings, and Zaheer Khan produced a typically miserly opening spell. Following the dismissal of both openers, Sangakkara and regular partner in crime, Mahela Jayawardene, set about the rebuilding process. When the captain was out for 48 Jayawardene pressed on, compiling a rapid but classy century to finish on 103 not out from 88 balls. Aided by some feisty lower-order hitting from Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, the Sri Lankans hit 91 off the last 10 overs to reach a competitive total of 274-6.

The nerves of Indian supporters were severely tested in the opening few overs of their team’s response, as Lasith Malinga had the dangerous Virender Sehwag trapped lbw off the second ball. But that was nothing compared to the deathly silence which befell the stadium when Sachin Tendulkar was caught behind for 18, his dreams of reaching his hundredth international century on the biggest stage of all abruptly terminated. However, India were not to be denied the ultimate prize. Gautam Gambhir steadied the ship, helped first by Virat Kohli and then Dhoni. The Indian skipper had been desperately short of batting form all tournament, but chose the perfect moment to set the record straight. Promoting himself up the order, he set about a controlled demolition of the Sri Lankan attack. Muttiah Muralitharan, playing in his final international cricket match, and his fellow bowlers could only look on as the game was taken steadily away from them. When Gambhir fell three short of his hundred the majority of the damage had already been done, and it was perhaps fitting that India’s form player of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh, was present alongside his skipper at the end. Dhoni finished on 91 not out off 79 balls; a truly heroic captain’s knock, considering the pressure and circumstances. The unbridled joy on his players’ faces as he lifted the trophy was plain for all to see, perhaps no more so than Tendulkar, who finally got his hands on one day cricket’s biggest prize at the sixth time of asking. His landmark century can wait for another day.

This World Cup has certainly been a memorable one; who could forget Sehwag’s brutal 175 against Bangladesh on the opening day, or Kevin O’Brien’s sensational destruction of England? In fact, most of the games which involved England are worthy of remembrance one way or the other; the nail-biting tie with India, the miraculous defeat of South Africa, in addition to the shock losses to Ireland and Bangladesh. The tournament was not left wanting for drama or individual heroics.

On the other hand, six weeks did feel like too long, especially when the first month often involved considerable gaps between games for each team. The issue of the number of countries involved is also an interesting one. Certainly Ireland, and to a lesser extent the Netherlands, have shown that some associate nations can give terrific accounts of themselves. Canada and Kenya, on the contrary, did little if anything to enhance their reputations. 12 would seem to be an appropriate number of contestants for future tournaments, as this would enable the three strongest associate nations to boost their credentials whilst saving the real minnows from embarrassment and demoralisation. The ICC has, however, recently announced that the 2015 World Cup will involve just 10 teams. Presumably Zimbabwe will be the only non-test playing nation to participate; this seems grossly unfair to Ireland in particular, as all their hard work and improvement will go unrewarded.

And what ramifications will there be for the 50-over game in general? The tournament has certainly gone some way to restoring the reputation of the format. The latter stages, and those early games involving England, provided plenty of drama and tension. Contests constantly ebbed and flowed, momentum shifting from one team to the other. Games such as these prove that a happy medium can indeed exist between test and Twenty20 cricket. Nevertheless, the issue of scheduling is one that needs addressing. As mentioned previously, a six week World Cup is a big strain on the players (and, equally importantly, the spectators), especially when it comes straight off the back of a needless seven match one day series, as was the case for England and Australia. Having fewer games would increase the prestige and atmosphere surrounding those which are played.

So, the 2011 World Cup has to an extent rejuvenated a struggling format of the game. Nonetheless there are still significant issues to be resolved, not least the packed international calendar. In the meantime, however, it’s straight on to the IPL…