The imaginatively named 'Cricket World Cup' is underway and we already have one world record in place - Gibbs smashed six sixes in an over versus The Netherlands, Daan Van Bunge being the unfortunate bowler. Wonderful as the record is to behold - and some of the shots were pure violence - this just underlines the utterly banal nature of some of these matches. It is all well globalising cricket and allowing the weaker countries a chance to rub shoulders with the major cricketing nations. But some quality control needs to be carried out and maybe a pre-qualifying round to cull out 2 or 3 of the 6 non-test playing nations would have made sense. Having said that Ireland's tie with Zimbabwe and Kenya's clinical performance against Canada were value for money.
Anyways, of the first round of matches played till now, some early signs are visible. England were awful, and having put a few quid on them, I can't begin to describe my feelings after watching their batting performance yesterday. Vaughan played a ridiculous shot and KP got out when well set. As Plunkett and Nixon showed the pitch was easing out and the Kiwis duly took advantage. Oram carried on from where he left off against Australia and they cruised to a six-wicket win.
Compared to England, Pakistan played reasonably well but lost out due to inexperience and sloppiness in the field. They started off well with Umar Gul and Rao Ifthikar but Rana Naved came up a cropper. Kaneria tried hard but he was unfortunate to come up against two expert players of spin, Samuels and Lara. Pakistan ended conceding some 20-30 runs more than what was par for the pitch, but in the end it looked like even 200 would have been enough for Windies. Again inexperience of Imran Nazir and Hafeez hurt Pakistan. They have a long slog from here to reach semis but I think they can only improve with Afridi returning after his ban. Maybe Sami for Rana Naved would be a good change.
From the matches so far, Windies and Kiwis look good and more importantly have the points in bag for Super Eight. Australia look ominous with Ponting laying down a marker for other batsmen to aspire to. Sri Lanka eased to a hammering against Bermuda and Jayawardene got amidst runs. Chamara Silva again impressed.
What about the wickets? Well it is a cliche to classify them as slow and low. Sabina Park offered good bounce and carry while the Queens Park Oval offered something for everyone. I think we will see a good variety of pitches with the venues spread across so many countries - differences in soil type and weather set to play a role. Surprisingly, the spinners have not had much success whereas the military medium bowlers have had better luck. If that's the pattern then India and Sri Lanka have a problem while Kiwis and Windies stand to gain. Australia will reach at least the semis no matter what the conditions. Haven't see SA yet but I fully expect them to reach the later stages and bottle it completely.
Here's what someone, who writes better and is more qualified, have to say about Australia, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I don't share Mukul Kesavan's sepia tinted affection for Sri Lanka but being a proud tamilian may have something to do with it. Today India play Bangladesh, a potential banana skin, and Pakistan take on Ireland. The matches will tell us about India's state of mind and Pakistan's ability to bounce back.
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